AND  FUNCTIONS 


OF  THE 


'■■X:--A^'y'^  '/■ 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


HISTORY 


DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE 


UNITED  STATES. 


ITS  FORMATION  AND  DUTIES,  TOGETHER  WITH   BIOGRAPHIES 

OF  ITS  PRESENT  OFFICERS  AND  SECRETARIES 

FROM    THE    BEGINNING. 


WASHINGTON  : 
GOV  I   R  N  M  E  N  T    I'KINTI  N  G    O  F  F I  C  E 

I  q  o  I  . 


NOTE 


A  comprehensive  history  of  the  Department  of  State 
would  necessarily  comprise  several  volumes.  This  work 
makes  no  pretension  other  than  being  simply  the  briefest 
possible  outline  of  the  development  of  the  Department  from 
its  beginning.  In  the  preparation  of  this  sketch  quotations 
have  been  freely  made  from  a  report  to  the  Chief  Clerk  of 
the  Department  of  State  in  1N93  by  Mr.  Gaillard  Hunt,  and 
full  acknowledgment  is  hereby  made  to  that  painstaking 
and  reliable  writer  of  history.  The  chapters  on  the  methods 
employed  in  the  conduct  of  business  in  the  several  bureaus 
appear  substantially  as  written  by  the  chiefs  of  those  bureaus. 
The  data  for  the  biographical  sketches  of  the  Secretaries 
ha>  been  obtained  from  various  sources,  and  has  been  verified 
by  the  official  records  as  far  as  seemed  necessary.  The  illus- 
trations have  been  secured  only  after  much  effort,  and  the 
compiler  feels  confident  that  they  will  be  highly  appreciated. 
The  work  of  the  Department  of  State  has  grown  apace 
with  the  development  of  the  country,  and  this  fact  should 
prompt  liberal  appropriations  for  the  use  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  in  carrying  on  the  important  work  committed  to  him. 
The  personnel  and  organization  of  the  Department  is  as 
follows: 

A  Secretary  of  State. 

An  Assistant  Secretary. 

A  Second  Assistant  Secretary. 

A  Third  Assistant  Secretary. 


4  Nott : 

A  Solicitor,  who  is  an  officer  of  the  Department 
of  Justice  detailed  for  duty  in  the  Department  of 
State. 

A  Chief  Clerk. 

An  Assistant  Solicitor. 

Seven  chiefs  of  bureau. 

Two  translators. 

One  private  secretary  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 

Ten  clerks  of  class  4. 

Four  clerks  of  class  3. 

Ten  clerks  of  class  2. 

Twenty-four  clerks  of  class  1. 

A  telegraph  operator. 

Five  clerks  at  Si, 000  each  per  annum. 

Ten  clerks  at  $900  each  per  annum. 

One  chief  messenger. 

One  messenger. 

Two  assistant  messengers. 

One  packer. 

Thirteen  laborers. 
Thus,   including   the    Solicitor,   the    Department    has    a 
working  force  of  ninety-nine  persons. 

There  have  been  thirty-seven  Secretaries  of  State,  two  of 
whom,  Daniel  Webster,  from  March  5,  1841,10  May  8,  1843, 
and  from  July  23,  1850,  to  October  24,  1852,  and  James  G. 
Blaine,  from  March  5,  1:881,  to  December  19,  1 881,  and  March 
7,  1889,  to  June  4,  1892,  served  under  two  different  Adminis- 
trations, thus  making  35  men  who  have  actually  occupied  the 
place  as  regularly  commissioned  Secretaries.  There  have 
been  seventeen  adinterim  Secretaries,  two  of  whom,  William 
Hunter,  Chief  Clerk,  from  March  3,  1853,  to  March  6,  1853, 
and  from  December  13,  [86o,tO  December  16,  1S60,  and  Mr. 
William  F.  Wharton,  Assistant  Secretary,  from  June  4,  1892, 
to  June  2<j,  1892,  and  from   February  24,  [893,  to  March  5, 


Note.  5 

[893,  occupied  the  place  under  different  Administrations. 
Of  the  thirty-five  Secretaries,  but  four  are  living  at  this 
time,  Foster,  Olney,  Day,  and  Hay.  Of  those  appointed  ad 
interim  Secretary,  two  were  Secretaries  of  War,  five  Attor- 
neys-General, six  Chief  Clerks,  one  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
three  Assistant  Secretaries,  and  one  Second  Assistant  Secre- 
tary. Two  adinterim  Secretaries,  Timothy  Pickering,  from 
December  10,  1795,  to  May  12,  1800,  and  Abel  P.  Upshur, 
from  June  24,  1S43,  to  February  28,  1 844,  were  subsequently 
elevated  to  the  position  of  Secretary.  A  number  of  Secre- 
taries were  continued  for  longer  or  shorter  periods  from  one 
administration  to  another  in  order  to  meet  the  convenience 
of  the  incoming  administration. 

There  have  been  twenty-five  Assistant  Secretaries,  one  of 
whom,  William  Hunter,  was  twice  commissioned  and  served 
under  two  different  Administrations. 

There  have  been  two  Second  Assistant  Secretaries  since 
that  office  was  created,  July  27,  1866,  Mr.  Hunter  and  Mr. 
Adee,  both  of  whom  had  served  as  Third  Assistant  Secre- 
taries. 

There  have  been  ten  Third  Assistant  Secretaries  since 
that  office  was  established,  February  24,  1875. 

There  have  been  twenty-six  Chief  Clerks,  one  of  whom 
was  twice  appointed,  six  served  as  ad  interim  Secretaries, 
one  was  promoted  to  Third  Assistant  and  three  to  be  Assist- 
ant Secretaries. 

The  present  diplomatic  service  is  composed  of  one  hun- 
dred and  three  persons,  of  whom  six  are  ambassadors, 
thirty  envoys  extraordinary  and  ministers  plenipotentiary, 
four  ministers  resident,  and  one  charge  d'affaires. 

The  present  consular  service  is  composed  of  thirty-nine 
consulates-general,  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  consulates, 
and  twenty-three  commercial  agencies,  employing  about 
eleven  hundred   persons,  making  a  total    in   the  diplomatic 


6  Note. 

and  consular  service  of  about  twelve  hundred  persons. 
The  supervision  and  direction  of  this  force  devolves  upon 
the  Department  of  State;  and  the  reader  will  not  fail  to 
note  that  the  necessary  correspondence  by  mail  and  cable 
with  such  an  army,  engaged  in  safeguarding  and  advancing 
American  interests  abroad,  must  entail  burdensome  work 
on  a  Departmental  force  of  ninety-nine  people. 

The  work  of  the  Department  has  increased  over  80  per 
cent  in  the  last  ten  years,  without  any  essential  increase 
in  its  working  force.  Both  the  force  and  available  working 
space  in  the  Department  will  have  to  be  increased  very  con- 
siderably within  a  short  time  in  order  to  meet  the  absolute 
necessities  of  the  service. 

Wm.   H.   Michael, 
Chief  Clerk,  and  Representative  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  on  the  Government  Board  of 

Man  age  went,  Pan-American  Exposition. 

August  i,  1901. 


OFFICERS   AND   CHIEFS 

OF 

The  Department  of  State. 


igoi. 


Se(  ret  u;v  of  State, 

JOHN  HAY,  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State, 

DAVID  J.   HILL,  OF  New  York. 
Second  Assistant  Secretary  of  State, 

Al.VIiV  A.   ADEE,  OF  New  York. 
Third  Assistant  Secretary  of  State, 

THOMAS  W.   CRIDLER,  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

Si  H.U'ITOR, 

WILLIAM   L.   PENFIELD,  OF  Indiana. 
Chief  Clerk, 

WILLIAM   H.    MICH  ALL,   OF  NEBRASKA. 
Assistant  Solicitor, 

FREDERICK  YAN  DYNE,  of  New  York. 
Chief  of  the  Diplomatic  Bureau, 

SYDNEY  V.  SMITH,  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Chief  of  the  Consular  Bureau, 

ROBERT  S.  CHILTON,  Jr.,  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Indexes  and  Archives, 

PENDLETON   KINO,  of  North  Carolina. 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Accounts  and  Disbursing  Clerk, 

THOMAS   MORRISON,   OF  NEW  York. 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Foreign  Commerce, 

FREDERIC  EMORY,  of  Maryland. 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Rolls  and  Library, 

ANDREW  H.  ALLEN,  of  North  Carolina. 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Appointments, 

ROBERT  BRENT  MOSHER,  of  Kentucky. 
Translators, 

HENRY   L.   THOMAS,   OF  New  York. 

JOHN   S.    MARTIN,   Jr.,   OF    PENNSYLVANIA. 


u.  s 
o  - 


DIFFERENT  BUILDINGS  OCCUPIED  BY  THE 
OFFICE  OF  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS  AND  THE 
DEPARTMENT    OF    STATE. 

The  foreign  affairs  of  the  country  were  first  conducted 
under  the  direct  supervision  and  direction  of  the  Congress. 

The  first  building,  therefore,  in  which  foreign  affairs  were 
given  consideration  was  that  in  which  the  Congress  first 
met.  This  was  Carpenter's  Hall,  Philadelphia,  located  at 
the  end  of  an  alley  south  from  Chestnut,  between  Third 
and  Fourth  streets.  From  here  the  Government  was 
removed  to  Independence  Hall,  where  foreign  affairs  were 
conducted  till  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  was 
organized  and  installed  in  a  small  house  at  No.  13  South 
Sixth  street.  This  building  was  occupied  by  the  Office  of 
Foreign  Affairs  from  the  latter  part  of  1781  till  June,  1783, 
when  the  Department  was  practically  suspended.  It  was 
revived  and  placed  on  a  broader  basis  by  John  Jay  in  1785. 
A  good  picture  of  the  first  building  occupied  by  the  Office 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  separate  from  the  Congress,  is  presented 
on  another  page. 

The  seat  of  government  was  removed  to  New  York  City 
in  1785.  The  Office  of  Foreign  Affairs  was  established  in 
the  room  of  Faunce\s  Tavern  in  which  General  Washington 
bade  farewell  to  his  generals  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
It  was  removed  from  this  place  in  17S8  to  a  house  owned 
by  Philip  Livingston,  located  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway, 
near  the  Battery.  Subsequently  it  was  transferred  to  a 
house  on  the  same  street,  but  on  the  opposite  side. 

9 


io     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

The  seat  of  government  was  again  established  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  the  Office  of  Foreign  Affairs  was  located  on 
Market  street,  where  it  remained  but  a  short  time,  when  it 
was  removed  to  the  southeast  corner  of  Arch  and  Sixth 
streets,  then  in  North  alley,  and  then  on  the  corner  of  Fifth 
and  Chestnut,  where  it  remained'  till  the  capital  was 
removed  to  Washington.  It  might  be  stated  that  the  office 
was  temporarily  removed  to  Trenton,  N.  J.,  on  account  of 
the  prevalence  of  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia,  where  it 
occupied  a  room  in  the  State  House  for  a  period  of  three 
mouths. 

The  first  home  of  the  Office  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  the 
new  capital  was  in  the  Treasury,  building,  the  only  one 
sufficiently  completed  to  afford  accommodation.  This 
building  was  occupied  by  the  Department  June  i,  1800. 
August  27,  1800,  the  office  was  removed  to  one  of  the  "six 
buildings"  on  Pennsylvania  avenue  and  Twentieth  street. 
In  May,  1.S01,  it  was  moved  to  Seventeenth  street  into  what 
was  known  as  the  War  Office.  It  remained  here  till 
December,  1819,  except  from  September,  1 814,  till  April, 
[816,  during  which  time  it  occupied  a  building  on  the 
south  side  of  G  street,  near  Eighteenth  X.  \\\,  while  the 
former  building  was  undergoing  repairs  made  necessary  by 
the  damages  inflicted  by  British  troops  in  August,  1814. 

In  January,  [820,  the  Department  was  moved  to  the 
corner  of  Fifteenth  street  and  Pennsylvania  avenue  and 
installed  in  the  north  wing  of  the  old  Treasury  building. 
Eiere  it  remained  till  October,  [866.  A  correct  picture  of 
the  wing  is  given  on  another  page. 

In  October,  [866,  the  Department  was  established  in  the 
building  on  the  corner  of  Fourteenth  and  S  streets,  known 
as  tin  Washington  Orphan  Asylum.  A  good  picture  of 
this  building  is  given  on  another  page. 

In  July,  [875,  the  Department  was  removed  to  its  present 


■ 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.      1 1 

fine  quarters  in  the  south  wing  of  the  State,  War  and  Navy 
building.  A  correct  picture  is  presented  of  the  south  and 
east  fronts  of  this  splendid  specimen  of  architecture  as 
a  frontispiece. 

The  business  of  the  Department  of  State  has  attained 
such  magnitude  and  is  growing  so  rapidly  that  it  will  be 
necessary  for  Congress  to  provide  a  new  and  larger  building 
within  a  few  years  to  meet  the  requirements  of  efficient  and 
economic  service.  In  fact,  it  may  be  stated,  that  at  the 
present  time  the  Department  is  greatly  embarrassed  for 
want  of  room. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF 
DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS. 

The  Continental  Congress  assembled  in  Carpenter's  Hall 
at  Philadelphia  September  5,  1774.  After  some  discussion 
a  loyal  address  to  the  King  of  England  was  adopted,  asking 
him  to  recall  the  unjust  measures  which  were  oppressing 
his  subjects  in  America.  The  address  was  sent  to  Paul 
Wentworth,  Charles  Garth,  William  Ballon,  Thomas  Life, 
Edmund  Burke,  Arthur  Lee,  and  Benjamin  Franklin, 
"  Friends  to  American  Liberty  "  residing  in  England.  They 
were  instructed  to  act  for  the  "  United  Colonies."  Ballon, 
Lee,  and  Franklin  were  the  only  three  who  did  so. 

The  efforts  of  the  agents  failed,  and  the  colonies  had  to 
choose  between  submission  and  rebellion.  As  an  important 
means  of  prosecuting  the  rebellion  a  "  Committee  of  Secret 
Correspondence"  was  appointed  November  29,  1775,  com- 
posed of  Benjamin  Franklin  as  chairman;  Benjamin  Harri- 
son, of  Virginia;  John  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania;  Thomas 
Johnson,  of  Maryland;  and  John  Jay,  of  New  York,  as  mem- 
bers. This  was  essentially  a  committee  of  foreign  affairs. 
It  instructed  Arthur  Lee  to  communicate  with  the  French 
minister  of  foreign  affairs,  Count  Yergennes,  and  invoke 
French  aid  for  the  colonies.  Negotiations  resulted  three 
years  later   in    an    alliance,  offensive    and   defensive,   with 

France. 

13 


14     History  and  Functions  of  tin  Department  of  State. 

The  Committee  of  Secret  Correspondence  was  succeeded 
April  17,  1777,  by  the  "Committee  for  Foreign  Affairs," 
which  was  created  by  act  of  Congress.  The  first  members  of 
this  committee  were  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Virginia;  Robert 
Morris,  of  Pennsylvania;  Thomas  Hayward,  jr.,  of  North 
Carolina;  and  James  Lovell,  of  Massachusetts.  The  person- 
nel of  the  committee,  however,  underwent  constant  changes. 
The  first  secretary  of  the  committee  was  Thomas  Paine,  who 
received  a  salary  of  $70  a  month.  He  was  dismissed  in 
January,  1779,  because  he  made  an  official  matter  public. 
The  chief  function  of  the  committee  was  to  keep  agents 
of  the  Government  abroad  advised  respecting  the  progress 
of  events  in  America,  and  to  simply  execute  the  orders  of 
Congress.  Further  than  this  it  had  little  real  power  over 
our  foreign  affairs.  The  only  member  who  remained  con- 
tinuouslv  on  the  committee  was  Lovell.  He  was  a  Boston 
school-teacher;  was  imprisoned  by  the  British  after  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill;  was  exchanged  later,  and  elected  a  member 
of  Congress  in  December,  1776,  serving  till  1782.  He  is 
represented  as  having  been  a  man  of  learning  and  ability, 
but  of  such  eccentricities  of  manner  and  temper  as  to  lead 
at  times  to  doubts  of  his  sanity.  During  the  period  of  the 
intrigues  of  the  Conway  cabal  against  General  Washington, 
Lovell  espoused  the  cause  of  General  Gates. 

The  committee  became  so  unimportant  a  body  that  after 
a  time  it  almost  ceased  to  exist.  "  There  is  really,11  wrote 
Lovell  to  Arthur  Lee,  August  6,  1779,  "no  such  thing  as 
a  Committee  of  Foreign  Affairs  existing — no  secretary  or 
clerk,  further  than  I  persevere  to  be  one  and  the  other.  The 
books  and  the  papers  of  that  extinguished  body  lay  yet  on 
the  table  of  Congress,  or  rather  are  locked  up  in  the  Secre- 
tary's private  box.'1 

The  demand  for  a  department  through  which  to  con- 
duct foreign  affairs  resulted  in  "a  plan  for  the  Department 


I listoi  y  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.      15 

of  Foreign  Affairs,"  reported  to  Congress  in  January,  [781. 

The  opening  paragraph  of  the  plan  reads: 

That  the  extent  and  rising  power  of  these  United  States  entitles  them 
to  a  place  among  the  great  potentates  of  Europe,  while  our  political  and 
commercial  interests  point  out  the  propriety  of  cultivating  with  them  a 
Friendly  correspondence  and  connection. 

The  Department  was  organized  August  10,  1781,  and 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  of  New  York,  who  had  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  old  committee  for  a  short  time  in  1779,  was 
elected  Secretary.  He  filled  this  position  till  June  4,  1783. 
Dr.  Francis  Wharton  speaks  of  his  character  and  services 
thus:  "  Mr.  Livingston,  though  a  much  younger  man  than 
Franklin,  possessed,  in  his  dispassionateness  and  his  many- 
sidedness,  not  a  few  of  Franklin's  characteristics.  From 
his  prior  administrative  experience  as  royalist  recorder  of 
New7  York  he  had  at  least  some  acquaintance  with  practical 
government  in  America:  his  thorough  studies  as  scholar 
and  jurist  gave  him  a  knowledge  of  administrative  politics 
in  other  spheres.  *      He  did  more  than  anyone  in 

the  home  government  in  shaping  its  foreign  policy." 

Notwithstanding  this  Department  was  not  permitted  by 
Congress  to  take  independent  action  in  the  conduct  of  for- 
eign affairs,  its  duties. were  highly  important.  It  was  made 
the  medium  of  all  correspondence  with  our  agents  abroad. 
The  foreign  correspondence  required  great  labor  and  pre- 
caution. At  least  four,  and  sometimes  seven,  copies  of 
every  letter  were  sent,  to  lessen  the  chances  of  loss  by 
capture,  and  on  each  packet  was  written  the  warning,  "  to 
be  sunk  in  case  of  danger  from  the  enemy."  Ciphers  were 
freely  used,  and  some  of  the  letters  were  in  invisible  ink. 
Notwithstanding  this  precaution,  a  large  portion  of  the  letters 
fell  into  British  hands. 

Previous  to  his  departure  from  Congress  Livingston  sub- 
mitted a  report,  showing  all  the  officers  serving  under  him 
and  their  salaries.      The   "Secretary  to  the  United   States 


i6     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

for  Foreign  Affairs'1  received  #4,000  per  annum.  Benjamin 
Franklin,  "Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  Statesat 
the  Court  of  Versailles,  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  for 
negotiating  a  peace;"  John  Adams,  "Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary at  the  Hague  and  for  negotiating  a  peace;"  John  Jay, 
"Minister  Plenipotentiary  at  Madrid  and  for  negotiating 
a  peace;"  Henry  Laurens,  ''Minister  Plenipotentiary  for 
negotiating  a  peace;"  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  with  the  same 
rank,  each  received  a  salary  of  $1 1,1 1 1  per  annum.  William 
Carmichael,  "Secretary  to  the  Embassy  at  the  Court  of 
Madrid,"  and  Francis  Dana,  Minister  at  St.  Petersburg,  each 
received  $4,444.40  per  annum.  Charles  W.  F.  Dumas, 
"Agent  of  the  United  States  at  the  Hague,"  received  $920; 
William  Temple  Franklin,  "Secretary  to  the  Hon.  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,"  $1,300;  Lewis  R.  Morris,  "First  Under 
Secretary  in  the  Office  of  Foreign  Affairs,"  $800;  Peter  L. 
Du  Ponceau,  "Second  Under  Secretary  in  the  Office  of 
Foreign  Affairs,"  $700;  John  P.  Tetend,  "Clerk  and  Inter- 
preter of  the  French  Language,"  $500;  Walter  Stone, 
"Clerk,"  $500.  The  total  cost  of  the  entire  service  at  home 
and  abroad  was  $73,244. 

When  Livingston  retired  the  business  of  the  Department 
was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  under  secretary,  Lewis  R.  Mor- 
ris. He  was  without  legal  authority  to  act,  and  severed  his 
connection  with  the  Department  soon  afterwards.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Henry  Remsen,  jr.  The  Department  of  For- 
eign Affairs,  however,  had  practically  ceased  to  exist,  and 
Congress  managed  the  foreign  relations  of  the  country 
through  committees  appointed,  as  occasion  arose,  to  consider 
specific  questions. 

John  Jay,  of  New  York,  was  one  of  the  commissioners 
who,  in  1783,  negotiated  at  Paris  the  definitive  treaty  of 
peace  with  Great  Britain,  He  sailed  for  home  in  the  sum- 
mer of  [784,  and  before  his  arrival  was  elected  Secretary  of 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Slate,      i  7 

Foreign  Affairs  on  motion  of  Elbridge  Gerry,  of  Massachu- 
setts. He  took  the  oath  of  office  and  entered  on  his  duties 
September  21,  17S4,  and  the  functions  of  the  Department 
were  revived,  but  they  were  ill  defined  and  limited,  and  the 
Secretary  was  constantly  complaining  of  the  unsatisfactory 
nature  and  scope  of  his  authority. 

A  committee  of  Congress  reported  August  14,  1788,  upon 
the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs.  It  occupied  two  rooms, 
one  the  Secretary's,  the  other  that  of  his  deputy  and  clerks. 
The  daily  transactions  were  entered  in  a  minute  book  and 
subsequently  copied  into  a  journal.  The  letters  to  minis- 
ters and  others  abroad  were  entered  in  a  book  called  the 
"  Book  of  Foreign  Letters,'1  such  parts  as  required  secrecy 
being  in  cipher.  The  domestic  correspondence  was  entered 
in  the  "  American  Letter  Rook."  The  "  Book  of  Reports" 
contained  the  Secretary's  reports  to  Congress.  There  was 
also  a  book  in  which  were  recorded  the  passports  issued  to 
vessels,  one  of  "  Foreign  Commissions,"  a  "  Rook  of  Ac- 
counts," and  one  containing  acts  of  Congress  relative  to  the 
Department.  The  papers  of  the  old  Committee  of  foreign 
Affairs  and  all  the  correspondence  of  onr  ministers  abroad 
were  properly  cared  for.  The  office  was  open  for  business 
from  9  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  6  at  night,  and  either 
the  deputy  or  a  clerk  remained  in  the  office  while  the  others 
were  at  dinner.  The  committee  concluded  their  report  by 
saying:  "And  upon  the  whole  they  find  neatness,  method, 
and  perspicacity  throughout  the  Department." 

The  last  act  relative  to  foreign  affairs  by  the  expiring 
Congress  was  in  the  form  of  a  resolution,  dated  September 
16,  178S,  which  reads: 

Resolved,  That  n<>  further  progress  In-  made  in  the  negotiations  with 
Spain  by  tin-  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  but  that  the  subject  to  which 
they  relate  lie  referred  to  the  Federal  Government  which  is  to  assemble  in 
March  next. 


[8     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Slate. 

One   month    later   the   Congress   expired    for   want   of  a 
quorum. 

Livingston  and  Jay,  the  only  two  Secretaries  of  Foreign 

Affairs,  displayed  conspicuous  ability  in  the  conduct  of  their 

office  and  it  is  doubtful  if  men  better  equipped  for  the 
office  could  have  been  found  in  America.  The  diplomacy 
of  the  Revolution  was,  on  the  whole,  splendidly  successful, 
due  chiefiv  to  the  genius  and  energy  of  our  diplomatists, 
for  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  machinery  which  they  were 
obliged  to  use  was  weak  and  inadequate  for  its  purpose.  In 
no  branch  of  governmental  affairs  was  the  necessity  for  a 
stronger  government  and  closer  union  of  the  States  than  in 
our  foreign  relations,  and  this  was  more  evident  after  the 
peace  than  it  was  while  the  States  were  forced  into  unity  of 
action  hv  the  common  danger  of  war.  ll  When  our  minis- 
ters and  agents  in  Europe, "  says  John  Fiske,  "  raised  the 
question  as  to  making  commercial  treaties,  they  were  dis- 
dainfully asked  whether  European  powers  were  expected  to 
deal  with  thirteen  governments  or  with  one.  If  it  was 
answered  that  the  United  States  constituted  a  single  Govern- 
ment, so  far  as  their  relations  with  foreign  powers  were 
concerned,  then  we  were  forthwith  twitted  with  our  failure 
to  keep  our  engagements  with  England  with  regard  to  the 
loyalists  and  the  collection  of  private  debts.  l  Yes,  we  see,' 
said  the  European  diplomats;  'the  United  States  are  one 
nation  today  and  thirteen  tomorrow,  according  as  may  seem 
to  subserve  their  selfish  interests/  Jefferson,  at  Paris,  was 
told  again  and  again  that  it  was  useless  for  the  French  Gov- 
ernment to  enter  into  any  agreement  with  the  United  States, 
as  there  was  no  certainty  that  it  would  be  fulfilled  on  om 
part,  and  the  same  things  were  said  all  oxer  Europe." 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     19 
THE    NEW    GOVERNMENT    UNDER    THE    CONSTITUTION. 

The  new  Government  under  the  Constitution  assembled 
in  New  York  early  in  April,  17S9.  After  Washington  had 
been  elected  President  and  John  Adams  Vice-President,  the 
business  of  providing  executive  departments  was  taken  up, 
and  the  first  one  considered  was  a  department  for  foreign 
affairs.  The  bill  introduced  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives June  2  provided  for  such  a  department  completely 
separated  from  the  conduct  of  domestic  affairs.  (  hie  clause 
in  the  bill  provided  that  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs 
should  be  "  removable  from  office  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States,"  and  this  gave  rise  to  an  important  debate 
covering  the  whole  question  of  removals  from  public  office. 
Several  members  contended  that,  as  the  Senate  under  the 
Constitution  participated  in  appointments,  it  should  also 
participate  in  removals;  but  this,  as  Boudinot,  of  New  Jer- 
sey,  pointed  out,  would  permit  the  Senate  to  sit  as  judges, 
to  determine  whether  sufficient  cause  of  removal  existed, 
and  would  pat  the  Senate  over  the  President  in  a  question 
between  him  and  his  subordinate  agent.  Madison  shared 
this  view,  but  contended,  in  the  course  of  the  debate,  that 
should  the  President  remove  his  secretary  for  an  improper 
cause  he  might  be  subject  to  impeachment. 

The  bill,  containing  an  expression  of  the  right  of  removal, 
passed  the  House  June  27  by  a  vote  of  29  to  22.  A  few 
unimportant  amendments,  to  which  the  House  subsequently 
agreed,  were  made  in  the  Senate,  and  the  bill  became  a  law 
Julv  27,  1789.  Its  title  was  "An  act  for  establishing  an 
Executive  Department,  to  be  denominated  the  Department 
of  Foreign  Affairs."  It  comprised  four  sections.  The  first 
defined  the  duties  of  the  Department  to  be  correspondence 
with  and  instructions  to  diplomatic  and  consular  agents 
abroad  and  negotiations  with  the  agfents  of  foreign  nations 


2o     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

in  the  United  States,  "or  to  such  other  matters  respecting 
foreign  affairs  as  the  President  of  the  United  States  shall 
assign  to  the  said  Department.'1  The  second  section  pro- 
vided for  the  appointment  by  the  Secretary  of  a  Chief  Clerk, 
who  should  have  charge  of  the  records,  books,  and  papers  of 
the  Department  during  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  the  Secre- 
tary, by  removal  by  the  President  or  other  cause.  The  third 
section  required  that  each  person  employed  in  the  Depart- 
ment should  take  an  oath  or  affirmation  "well  and  faithfully 
b i  execute  the  trust  committed  to  him."  The  fourth  section 
provided  that  the  Secretary  should  have  custody  of  all  the 
papers  which  had  been  in  the  old  office  of  foreign  affairs. 

John  Jay,  being  in  charge  of  the  old  Department  of  For- 
eign Affairs,  was  continued,  without  renewal  of  appointment, 
temporarily  in  charge  of  the  new  one.  This  Department, 
however,  was  destined  to  enjoy  brief  existence.  Before  the 
final  passage  of  the  act  creating  it,  Vining,  of  Delaware,  pro- 
posed in  the  House  the  establishment  of  a  Home  Depart- 
ment, to  have  the  custody  of  the  Great  Seal,  correspond 
with  the  several  States,  report  to  the  President  ''plans  for 
the  protection  and  improvement  of  manufactures,  agricul- 
ture, and  commerce,"  issue  patents,  etc.,  but  this  proposition 
met  with  little  favor,  and  July  31,  four  days  after  the  bill 
establishing  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  had  been 
signed,  Theodore  Sedgwick,  of  Connecticut,  introduced  a 
bill  "to  provide  for  the  safe-keeping  of  the  acts,  records,  and 
Great  Seal  of  the  United  States;  for  the  publication,  preser- 
vation, and  authentication  of  the  acts  of  Congress,"  etc. 
The  House  passed  it  August  27;  it  was  concurred  in  with  a 
few  verbal  amendments  by  the  .Senate  September  7,  agreed 
to  by  the  House  the  next  day,  and  signed  by  the  President 
September  1  5. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     21 

DEPARTMENT     OF     FOREIGN     AFFAIRS      BECOMES      DEPART- 
MENT   OF    STATE. 

The  first  section  of  this  act  of  September  15  provides 
that  the  "  Executive  Department  denominated  the  Depart- 
ment of  Foreign  Affairs  shall  hereafter  be  denominated  the 
Department  of  State,  and  the  principal  officer  shall  here- 
after be  called  the  Secretary  of  State."  The  Secretary  was 
required  to  receive  and  publish  the  laws  of  the  United 
States;  to  be  the  custodian  of  the  seal  of  the  United  States; 
to  authenticate  copies  of  records  and  papers  properly  com- 
ing before  him,  and  to  receive  all  the  records  and  papers  in 
the  office  of  the  late  Secretary  of  Congress,  except  such  as 
related  to  the  Treasury  and  War  Departments. 

The  scope  of  the  Department  was  thus  materially  en- 
larged, and  it  became  the  most  important  of  the  Govern- 
ment offices  under  the  President.  The  governors  of  the 
States  had  been  informed  by  the  President  July  5  of  the 
creation  of  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs.  They  were 
informed  September  21  of  its  expansion  into  the  Depart- 
ment of  State.  A  few  days  later  Jay  was  nominated  to  be 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  and  Thomas  Jefferson  to 
be  Secretary  of  State.  P>oth  were  commissioned  September 
26.  Jefferson  was  still  on  his  mission  to  France,  and  Octo- 
ber 13  Washington  wrote  informing  him  of  his  appoint- 
ment, and  added  that  "  Air.  Jay  had  been  so  obliging  as  to 
continue  his  good  offices. "  Jefferson  arrived  in  this  country 
in  December  following,  and  Jay  wrote  him  under  date  of 
December  12,  congratulating  him  on  his  appointment,  and 
favorably  recommending  to  him  "the  young  gentlemen  in 
the  office.1 '  The  acceptance  of  the  office  by  Jefferson  was 
not  made  till  February  14,  1790,  when  he  wrote  Washing- 
ton from  Monticello  that  he  would  shortly  set  out  for  New 


22      History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

York  to  assume  his  new  duties.  Upon  his  arrival  in  New 
York  the  Department  was  formally  turned  over  to  him  and 
started  upon  its  larger  career.  The  first  Secretary  of  State 
brought  to  the  office  ripe  experience  and  rare  gifts,  for  he 
had  been  minister  to  France,  had  had  executive  experience 
as  governor  of  Virginia  during  the  Revolution,  had  gained 
legislative  experience  in  1776  when  he  sat  in  Congress,  and 
was  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

When  the  Department  of  State  was  started  the  salary 
of  the  Secretary  was  fixed  by  law  at  $3,500  per  annum  ; 
that  of  the  Chief  Clerk  at  #800;  that  of  the  other  clerks 
at  not  more  than  $500.  Roger  Alden,  the  Chief  Clerk, 
had  been  Deputy  Secretary  under  Charles  Thomson  to  the 
old  Congress.  He  served  as  Chief  Clerk  till  he  resigned, 
Julv  25,  1790,  to  enter  into  more  lucrative  employment. 
His  place  was  filled  by  the  promotion  of  Henry  Remsen,  jr., 
who  had  maintained  a  connection  with  the  Government's 
foreign  office  from  March,  1784,  when  he  was  Under  Secre- 
tary  of  Foreign  Affairs.  In  1792  he  was  appointed  first 
teller  of  the  United  States  Bank,  and  George  Taylor,  jr., 
who  had  been  a  clerk  in  the  Department  for  seven  years, 
took  his  place. 

From  the  very  beginning  the  Department  of  State  had 
been  more  closely  connected  with  the  President  than  any 
other  Executive  Department.  Washington  not  only  referred 
to  it  all  official  letters  relating  to  its  business,  but  made  it 
the  repository  of  the  drafts  of  most  of  his  own  letters.  The 
"volume  of  business  of  the  Government  rendered  it  possible 
at  that  period  for  the  President  to  attend  personally  to  mat- 
ters which  are  now  rarely,  if  ever,  brought  to  his  attention. 
It  was  Jefferson's  custom  to  consult  his  chief  frequently. 
He  sent  him  the  rough  drafts  of  his  letters  for  approval  or 
correction,  and  carried  to  him  all  communications  of  con- 
sequence.      The  foreign  ministers  to  the  United  States  were- 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     23 

not  permitted  to  correspond  directly  with  the  President,  but 
wx-rc  required  to  address  the  Secretary  of  State-.  This  rule 
had  been  laid  down  before  Jefferson's  appointment,  when 
Washington  declined  direct  correspondence  with  Moustier, 
the  French  minister,  and  Moustier's  successor,  the  notorious 
Genet,  received  a  forcible  reminder  of  it  in  1793. 

The  Department  was  also  the  medium  of  correspondence 
between   the    President   and    the   governors   of   the  several 

States. 

A  number  of  the  duties  which  fell  to  the  Department 
soon  after  its  organization  have  since  passed  out  of  its  juris- 
diction. Under  the  law  of  April  10,  1790,  it  had  charg-e  of 
the  patent  business.  The  patents  were  granted  by  a  board 
composed  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Secretary  of  War, 
and  the  Attorney-General.  The  first  patent  issued  was  to 
Samuel  Hopkins,  July  31,  1790,  and  was  signed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, Jefferson,  and  Randolph,  Attorney-General.  Three 
patents  were  issued  that  year.  In  1793  another  act  relative 
to  patents  was  passed,  which  abolished  the  board  and  placed 
the  Secretary  of  State  alone  at  the  head  of  the  Patent  Office. 
In  1 810  the  Patent  Office  was  given  separate  quarters,  but 
remained  nominally  under  control  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 
In  1849  the  Department  of  the  Interior  was  formed,  and  the 
Patent  Office  was  merged  into  it.  Under  the  new  order 
Henry  Remsen  immediately  assumed  charge,  but  without 
official  title.  In  1802  Dr.  William  Thornton  was  appointed 
in  charge  of  the  patent  business,  and  took  the  title  of  "  Super- 
intendent of  Patents."  He  died  in  1828,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Thomas  P.Jones,  who  in  turn  gave  place  to  Dr.  John  I). 
Craig  in  [830.  It  was  not  till  1830  that  the  title  "Super- 
intendent "  received  statutory  sanction. 

A  law  passed  May  31,  1790,  made  the  Department  of 
State  the  repository  of  maps,  charts,  and  books  for  which 
copyright  might  be  granted  by  United  States  district  courts. 


24     History  and  Functions  of  tJie  Department  of  State. 

It  docs  not  appear,  however,  that  the  Secretary  of  State  was 
given  or  exercised  the  power  of  granting  copyrights.  In 
[859  all  of  these  records  were  by  law  turned  over  to  the 
Department  of  the  Interior,  and  later  passed  to  the  Library 
of  Congress,  where  the  business  is  now  conducted. 

Another  of  the  earlier  functions  of  the  Department  was 
the  superintendence  of  the  census  enumeration.  The  first 
census  taken  was  in  1790,  by  United  States  marshals.  The 
enumeration  began  on  the  first  Monday  in  August  and  closed 
within  nine  months.  The  returns  were  filed  with  the  clerks 
of  the  Federal  district  courts.  The  aggregate  results  were 
sent  to  the  President,  who  transmitted  them  to  Congress, 
and  were  printed  under  the  supervision  of  the  Secretary  of 
State.  The  returns  of  the  census  of  1800  were,  under  a 
later  law,  sent  direct  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  who  had  pre- 
pared the  instructions  for  the  marshals  by  whom  the  census 
was  taken.  The  business  was  transferred  by  Congress  May 
23,  1850,  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 

Territorial  affairs  were  under  the  Department  of  State 
till  the  organization  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 
When  the  Constitution  was  formed  the  Territory  northwest 
of  the  <  )hio  was  the  only  one.  Its  government,  which  had 
been  organized  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  was 
continued  by  the  act  of  August,  1789.  The  communica- 
tions from  the  governor  to  Congress  were  transmitted 
through  the  President,  and  the  correspondence  between  the 
President  and  governor  was  conducted  through  tin-  Depart- 
ment of  State.  The  law  of  1792  required  the  Secretary  of 
State  to  have  the  laws  of  the  Territory  printed  and  to  pro- 
vide seals  for  its  officers.  The  subdivision  of  the  Territory 
into  separate  governments  increased  the  labor  of  the  Depart- 
ment considerably,  but  did  not  materially  change  the  char- 
acter of  the  labor. 

After    the    war    of    the    rebellion    the    pardons    under    the 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     25 

President's  amnesty  proclamations  were  issued  through  the 
Department  of  State,  where  all  the  records  were  kept.  The 
Secretary  of  State,  conjointly  with  the  Attorney-General, 
considered  and  reported  upon  petitions  for  pardon  of  crimi- 
nals convicted  by  the  Federal  courts  till  [850,  when  that 
duty  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Attorney-General.  The 
reports  were  to  the  President,  who  has  always  exercised  the 
power  of  granting  pardons.  Warrants  for  the  pardons  were 
issued  by  the  Department  of  State  continuously  till  1893, 
when  this  duty  was  transferred  to  the  Department  of  Justice 
by  an  Executive  order.  Subsequent  to  1850  the  functions 
of  the  Department  of  State  respecting  pardons  were  purely 
clerical,  warrants  being-  issued  simply  upon  request  of  the 
Attorney-General. 

We  may  now  consider  the  development  of  the  machinery 
for  transacting  the  business  which  still  belongs  to  the 
Department. 

PERSONNEL  OF   THE   DEPARTMENT,  SALARIES,  DIVISION   OF 

LABOR,    ETC. 

The  salary  of  the  Secretary  of  State  was,  as  we  haye  seen, 
fixed  in  the  beginning  at  $3,500  per  annum.  It  was  raised 
to  $5,000  by  act  of  March  2,  1799;  to  $6,000  by  act  of  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1819;  to  $8,000  by  act  of  March  3,  1853;  to$io,ooo 
by  act  of  March  3,  1873,  and  reduced  to  $8,000,  the  present 
rate,  by  act  of  January  20,  1874.  Under  the  law  creat- 
ing the  Department  the  Chief  Clerk  assumed  charge  of  it 
whenever  there  was  an  interregnum  in  the  office  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  vState  till  the  President  designated  some  one  to 
fill  the  office.  In  1853  an  Assistant  Secretary  of  State  was 
provided  for  by  law,  with  power  to  act  as  Secretary  during 
the  latter's  absence  or  during  an  interregnum.  The  salary 
of  the  Assistant  Secretary  was  fixed  at  $3,000  per  annum. 
A  Second  Assistant  Secretary  was  provided  for  in  1S66,  at 
4089—01 3 


26      History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Stale. 

$3,500  per  annum.  The  Assistant  Secretary's  salary  was 
raised  by  the  same  act  to  an  equal  sum.  Subsequently  the 
annual  salary  of  the  latter  was  increased  to  54,500  per 
annum,  the  present  rate.  In  1875  the  office  of  Third 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State  was  created,  with  the  same 
salary  as  the  Second  Assistant  Secretary.  The  salaries  of 
thi'  Second  and  Third  Assistants  were  made  equal  to  that  of 
the  Assistant  Secretary  in  1900.  The  salary  of  the  Chief 
Clerk,  which  was  in  the  beginning  $800  per  annum,  was 
soon  afterwards  increased  to  $2,000;  then  to  52, 200;  then 
to  $2,400;  then  to  52,500;  then  to  52,750;  then  reduced  to 
$2,500,  and  in  1901  was  increased  to  53,000. 

The  clerks  in  the  Department  were  at  first  each  paid  $51  ><  1 
a  year,  but  a  law  passed  in  1799  permitted  the  Secretary  of 
State  to  vary  their  compensation  according  to  their  services, 
the  whole  expenditure  not  to  exceed  55,950  a  year.  In  1829, 
the  animal  report  of  Henry  Clay,  Secretary  of  State,  showed 
that  there  were  employed,  below  the  rank  of  Chief  Clerk, 
three  clerks  at  $1,600  each,  five  at  5T,4oo  each,  three  at 
5 1, 000  each,  two  at  $800 each;  in  the  Patent  Office,  a  Super- 
intendent at  51,500,  one  clerk  at  5i,ooo,  and  one  at  $800. 
One  of  the  clerks  at  5 1,000  received  an  additional  sum  of 
5251  >  a  year  as  translator.  The  total  amount  paid  for  salaries 
increased  steadily  as  the  work  of  the  Department  expanded, 
and  for  the  past  ten  years  has  averaged  a  little  more  than 
$j 00,000  per  annum.  In  [855  the  clerks  in  the  Department 
were  classified,  the  permanent  force  bein^-  three  clerks  of 
Class  I  ($1,200),  two  of  Class  II  (51,400),  eight  of  Class  III 
($1,600),  eight  of  Class  IV  ($1,800),  one  Chief  Clerk,  one  of 
the  clerks  of  Class  IV  to  act  as  disbursing  officer  and  give 
bonds  and  receive  a  salary  of  $2,000  a  year. 

In  1S4S  the  office  of  examiner  of  claims  was  created  and 
filled  bya  clerk  at  $2,oooa  year,  whose  duties  were  to  exam- 
ine claims  of  our  citizens  against  foreign  Governments  and 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.      27 

of  foreigners  against  our  Government.  In  [866  this  office 
was  regularly  recognized  by  law  and  the  salary  fixed  at 
$3,500.  When  the  Department  of  Justice  was  formed,  in 
[870,  the  office  passed  under  its  jurisdiction,  while  the  duties 
of  the  incumbent  remained,  as  they  are  now,  a  part  of  the 
functions  of  the  Department  of 'State.  In  [89]  the  title  was 
changed  to  "Solicitor  of  the  Department  of  State,"  with  a 
salary  of  $4,500.  In  [900  Congress  created  the  office  of 
Assistant  .Solicitor  and  fixed  the  salary  at  82,500. 

In  the  development  of  the  Department  a  logical  division 
of  labor  came  about,  and  the  creation  of  bureaus  and  divi- 
sions necessarily  followed.  Clerks  who  had  demonstrated 
special  fitness  for  particular  work  received  appropriate 
assignments. 

In  a  circular  dated  October  31,  1834,  John  Forsyth,  Sec- 
retary of  .State,  prescribed  the  distribution  of  the  duties  in 
the  Department.  The  Chief  Clerk's  duties,  he  said,  were 
such  as  pertained  to  an  under  secretary.  He  was  to  exer- 
cise an  immediate  superintendence  over  the  several  bureaus, 
and  report  to  the  Secretary  all  acts  of  negligence  or  miscon- 
duct. The  Diplomatic  Bureau  was  to  have  charge  of  all 
correspondence  between  the  Department  and  our  diplomatic 
agents  abroad  and  foreign  diplomatic  agents  in  the  United 
.States;  was  to  prepare  treaties,  etc.  The  duties  did  not 
vary  materially  from  those  now  pertaining  to  it.  It  was, 
however,  to  keep  indexes  of  its  correspondence,  a  function 
now  performed  by  a  separate  bnrean.  Three  clerks  were  in 
charge  of  the  Bureau.  The  Consular  Bnrean  had  charge, 
similarly,  of  all  consular  correspondence,  the  business  also 
being  performed  by  three  clerks.  Each  of  these  Bureaus 
now  employs  eleven  clerks. 

The  Home  Bureait  was  divided  into  four  divisions,  one 
clerk  being  in  charge  of  each.  One  division  had  control  of 
the  returns  of  passengers  from  foreign  ports  and  registered  sea- 


28      History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

men,  miscellaneous  and  domestic  correspondence,  treaties,  and 

presents  which  were  permitted  to  be  exhibited.  To  another 
was  given  the  custody  of  the  seal  of  the  United  States  and 
the  seal  of  the  Department,  the  applications  for  office,  the 
commissions  and  appointments.  A  third  had  the  Presiden- 
tial pardons,  passports,  and'  all  correspondence  relative  to 
them.  The  fourth  had  in  charge  the  filing-  and  preserving 
of  copyrights  and  the  reports  to  the  President  and  Congress. 
The  keeper  of  the  archives  had  charg-e  of  all  archives  other 
than  diplomatic  and  consular,  of  the  laws  and  their  distri- 
bution, and  of  the  publications  of  the  Department.  The 
translator  and  librarian  performed  all  the  translations  and 
cared  for  the  books,  etc.  The  disbursing  agent  made  all 
the  purchases  and  disbursements,  and  was  also  superintendent 
of  the  building.  All  the  business  was  confidential.  The 
clerks  were  required  to  finally  act  upon  and  dispose  of  all 
matters  sent  to  them  on  the  day  of  their  receipt.  The  hours 
of  business  were  from  10  in  the  morning  till  3  in  the  after- 
noon, during  which  time  no  one  was  permitted  to  be  absent 
except  with  special  permission.  The  clerks  in  the  Patent 
( )ffice  were  under  a  separate  arrangement. 

In  1S42,  when  Daniel  Webster  was  Secretary  of  State, 
the  "  Statistical  ( )ffice  "  was  originated.  He  recommended, 
in  a  report  to  Congress,  that  the  arranging  and  condensing 
of  information  on  commercial  subjects  received  from  our 
consuls  abroad  be  intrusted  to  one  person,  who  should  also 
have  charge  of  the  correspondence.  No  action  was  taken 
on  the  subject  by^Cfengress  until  [856,  when  the  "Statis- 
tical Office  of  the  Department  of  State "  was  authorized, 
under  tlie  charge  of  a  "  Superintendent, "  with  a  salary  of 
$2,000.  In  1S7.J  the  title  was  changed  to  ll  Bureau  of  Sta- 
tistics,'] with  a  chief  receiving  $2,400  a  year.  Secretary 
Sherman,  acting  under  authority  of  a  law  passed  that  year, 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.      29 

changed  the  name,  by  an  order  dated  July  1,  1897,  to  the 
"Bureau  of  Foreign  Commerce." 

In  [870  there  was  instituted  the  Bureau  of  Indexes  and 
Archives,  to  index  all   incoming  and  outgoing  mail,  which 

had  before  been  indexed  by  the  several  bureaus,  and  to  have 
charge  of  the  archives,  diplomatic,  consular,  and  domestic, 
thus  taking  the  duties  which  had  before  belonged  to  the 
keeper  of  thearchives.  The  salary  of  the  chief  was  fixed  in 
1873  at  $2,400  a  year. 

The  financial  business  of  the  Department,  previously 
intrusted  to  one  of  the  clerks,  by  the  act  of  1855  was  put  in 
the  hands  of  a  disbursing  clerk,  who  was  ordered  to  give 
bonds.  A  Bureau  of  Accounts,  with  the  disbursing  clerk  as 
chief,  was  formed  in  1-S73.  The  salary  was  the  same  as  that 
of  other  chiefs  of  bureau. 

The  librarian  and  translator  was  paid,  under  the  act  of 
[836,  $1,600  a  \ear.  The  two  offices  were  subsequently 
separated,  each  beingfilled  by  a  clerk.  The  separate  Bureau 
of  Rolls  and  Library  was  created  in  1874,  the  laws,  treaties, 
and  historical  papers  being  in  its  custody,  as  well  as  the 
books,  periodicals,  and  maps.  The  chief  received  $2,400 
per  annum.      The  translator  was  given   the  same  salary  in 

t875- 

The  Diplomatic  and  Consular  Bureaus  continued  practi- 
cally as  organized  by  Secretary  Forsyth,  but  each  bureau 
was  for  several  years  divided,  there  being  a  First  Diplo- 
matic Bureau  and  a  Second  Diplomatic  Bureau,  and  a  First 
Consular  Bureau  and  a  Second  Consular  Bureau,  each  hav- 
ing a  separate  chief.  They  were  restored  to  their  original 
position  in  1874,  with  the  salary  of  $2,400  for  the  respect- 
ive chiefs. 

The  passport  business  of  the  Department,  which  had  been 
under  Forsyth's  arrangement  a  division  of  the  Home  Bureau, 


30     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  oj  State. 

was  afterwards  separated  and  made  a  distinct  bureau,  with 
one  of  the  clerks  in  charge  of  it.  In  1894  it  was  placed 
under  the  Bureau  of  Accounts,  but  as  a  division,  with  the 
1  »assport  clerk  at  its  head.  To  this  division  also  was  assigned 
the  custody  of  the  seal  of  the  Department  and  the  authenti- 
cation of  documents. 

The  applications  for  office,  custody  of  the  seal  of  the 
United  States,  preparation  of  commissions  and  appoint- 
ments, also  formerly  a  part  of  the  duties  of  the  Home  Bureau, 
were  put  under  the  Bureau  of  Commissions  and  Pardons, 
and  after  the  pardons  ceased  to  be  made  out  in  the  Depart- 
ment, this  was  simply  the  Bureau  of  Commissions.  Its 
name  was  subsequently  changed  to  Appointment  Division, 
by  order  of  Secretary  Olney,  with  the  appointment  clerk  in 
charge.  In  1898  it  was  constituted  the  Bureau  of  Appoint- 
ments, and  the  clerk  in  charge  of  the  division  made  its  chief, 
with  a  salary  of  $2,100. 

The  law  creating  the  Department  of  State  prescribed  that 
the  Secretary  should  keep  the  seal  of  the  United  States,  and 
he  thus  became  the  custodian  of  the  most  important  official 
evidence  of  Federal  executive  authority.  The  law  reads 
that  the  Secretary  of  State — 

shall  affix  the  said  seal  to  all  civil  commissions  to  officers  of  the  United 
States,  i"  be  appointed  by  the  President,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  the  Senate,  or  by  the  President  alone:  Provided^  That  the  said 
seal  shall  not  lie  affixed  to  any  commission  before  the  same  shall  have 
been  signed  1  > \  the  President  of  the  United  States,  nor  to  any  other  instru- 
ment or  act,  without  the  special  warrant  of  the  President  therefor. 

The  seal  thus,  as  the  Supreme  Court  has  expressed  it, 
"attests,  by  an  act  supposed  to  be  of  public  notoriety,  the 
verity  of  the  Presidential  signature." 

At  the  present  time  the  seal  of  the  United  States  is  affixed 
to  the  commissions  of  all  Cabinet  officers  and  diplomatic 
and  consular  officers  appointed  by  the  President ;  to  all 
ceremonious   communications   from    the    President    to   the 


II '/story  and  Fvnctions  of  the  Department  oj  State.     33 

luads  of  foreign  governments;  to  all  treaties,  conventions, 
and  formal  agreements  of  the  President  with  foreign  powers; 
to  all  exequaturs  to  foreign  consular  officers  in  the  United 
States  who  are  appointed  by  the  heads  of  the  governments 
which  they  represent  ;  to  warrants  by  the  President  to  receive 
persons  surrendered  by  foreign  governments  under  extradi- 
tion treaties;  and  to  all  miscellaneous  commissions  of  civil 
officers  appointed  by  the  President  whose  appointments  are 
not  now  especially  directed  by  law  to  be  signed  under  a 
different  seal. 

The  recording  of  commissions  has  continued  under  prac- 
tically the  same  plan  since  17S9.  The  commission  is  made 
out  in  the  Department  and  sent  to  the  President.  Upon 
being  returned  with  his  signature,  it  is  countersigned  by  the 
Secretary  of  State  and  the  seal  is  affixed.  It  is  then  recorded 
and  delivered  to  the  person  for  whom  it  is  intended. 

Presidential  warrants  of  extradition,  as  we  have  seen,  bear 
the  seal  of  the  United  States,  and  this  brings  us  to  one  of 
the  most  important  and  interesting  of  the  legal  functions 
of  the  Department  of  State.  Extradition,  as  it  has  been 
well  denned,  is  "the  act  by  which  one  nation  delivers  up  an 
individual  accused  or  convicted  of  an  offense  outside  of  its 
own  territory  to  another  nation  which  demands  him."  In 
the  earlier  days  of  the  Republic  this  function  was  not  infre- 
quently discharged  by  the  governors  of  the  individual  States, 
in  some  cases  with  the  approval  of  the  Federal  Secretary  of 
State  and  in  other  cases  without  consulting  him.  Some  of 
our  States  have  even  gone  so  far  as  to  enact  statutes  con- 
ferring on  their  chief  executives  the  power  to  deliver  up 
fugitives  from  justice  to  foreign  nations.  Put  with  the 
development  and  clearer  comprehension  of  the  powers  of  the 
National  Government  the  States  have  ceased  to  deal  with 
the  subject,  and  it  is  now  generally  admitted  to  belong 
exclusively  to  the  General  Government.      By  treaty  between 


32      History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

the  United  States  and  Mexico  it  is  provided,  however,  that 
in  the  case  of  crimes  committed  in  the  frontier  States  or 
Territories  of  the  two  countries,  requisitions  for  extradition 
may  be  made  and  granted  by  State  or  Territorial  authority. 
The  first  treaty  of  this  country  providing  for  mutual  sur- 
render of  criminals  was  that  of  1 794  with  Great  Britain. 
Murder  and  forgery  were  the  only  crimes  included  in  it,  and 
it  expired  in  twelve  years.  A  new  treat}-  was  concluded 
with  Great  Britain  in  1S42,  and  since  then  the  practice  of 
extradition  has  become  general. 

ROUTINE    DUTIES    OF    THE    DEPARTMENT. 

Probably  the  most  important  routine  duties  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  are  those  connected  with  the  diplomatic  and 
consular  sendee.  The  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  was 
formed  with  the  chief  purpose  of  taking  under  its  charge 
these  functions  of  government,  and  the  methods  of  adminis- 
tration have  not  changed  materially  since  the  early  days  of 
the  Republic.  Making  allowances  for  increased  facilities  of 
communication  between  the  home  office  and  its  agents 
abroad,  a  study  of  the  system  followed  now  will  indicate,  in 
a  general  way,  what  it  has  always  been. 

The  general  rules  and  practices  that  govern  our  diplo- 
matic and  consular  corps  are  found  in  the  various  works  on 
international  law,  and  these  coyer  even  minute  matters  of 
form  and  routine;  l>nt  there  has  gradually  grown  np  an 
American  construction  of  international  law.  What  this  con- 
struction is  may  be  found  in  the  volumes  known  as  Foreign 
Relations,  which  have  been  regularly  issued  by  the  Govern- 
ment since'  [870,  and  which  were  issued  before  that,  from 
i86i  to  [868,  under  the  title  Diplomatic  Correspondence. 
Previous  to  [861  the  foreign  correspondence  is  scattered  in 
the  various  separate  reports  of  Congress.  In  these  volumes 
the    instructions   of   the   Secretary  of  State  to  our  ministers 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  <>/  Slate.     ^ 

abroad,  and  their  dispatches,  and  the  notes  exchanged  be- 
tween the  Secretary  of  Slate-  and  foreign  ministers  accredited 
to  this  country,  arc  given  in  part. 

In  1877,  niuk-r  the  supervision  of  John  L.  Cadwalader, 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  the  Department  issued  a  small 
volume  entitled  Digest  of  the  Published  Opinions  of  the 
Attorney-General  and  of  the  Leading  Decisions  of  the  Fed- 
eral Courts,  with  Reference  to  International  Law,  Treaties, 
and  Kindred  Subjects.  This  was  followed  in  [886  by  the 
most  important  work  on  American  international  law  that 
has  ever  been  printed.  It  is  entitled  A  Digest  of  the  Inter- 
national Law  of  the  United  States,  taken  from  Documents 
isstied  by  Presidents  and  Secretaries  of  State,  and  from  Deci- 
sions of  Federal  Courts  and  Opinions  of  Attorneys-General, 
and  was  published  by  the  Government  under  Congressional 
authority.  The  compiler  and  editor  was  the  late  Francis 
Wharton,  LL.  I).,  who  was  Solicitor  of  the  Department 
while  he  prepared  the  work.  A  second  edition  is  now  in 
press,  under  the  editorship  of  John  R.  Moore,  formerly  an 
officer  of  the  Department. 

The  particular  rules  for  the  government  of  consular  offi- 
cers are  found  in  the  volume  known  as  Consular  Reinila- 
tions,  the  first  edition  of  which  appeared  in  1855,  when 
William  L.  Marcy  was  Secretary  of  State,  under  the  title 
General  Instructions  to  the  Consuls  and  Commercial  Agents 
of  the  United  States.  This  publication  followed  the  act  of 
.March  1,  1855,  remodeling  the  consular  and  diplomatic 
service.  In  [857  another  edition  was  printed  entitled  Regu- 
lations Prescribed  by  the  President  for  Consular  ( )fficers  of 
the  United  States.  The  first  volume,  entitled  Consular 
Regulations,  was  issued  in  1874,  under  Secretary  Hamilton 
Fish.  There  have  been  successive  editions  since  then,  the 
last  appearing  in  1896. 


34      fit story  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

The  law  creating  the  Department  ordered  that  all  bills, 
orders,  resolutions,  etc.,  passed  by  Congress  and  approved 
by  the  President,  or  passed  over  his  veto,  should  be  sent  to 
the  Secretary  of  State,  by  whom  they  were  to  be  printed 
and  the  originals  recorded  and  preserved.  The}-  were 
printed,  under  varying  regulations,  in  newspapers  until  1874, 
but  this  did  not  interfere  with  their  publication  also  in 
pamphlet  form.  In  1795  a  complete  edition  was  printed 
and  distributed  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  this  mode 
continued  year  after  year.  In  1814  Bioren,  Duane  «!v 
Weightman  were  authorized  to  publish  an  edition  of  the 
laws  in  four  volumes,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  and  the  Attorney-General.  This  did  not,  however, 
supersede  the  regular  Department  publication.  In  1N42 
the  edition  printed  by  Little,  Brown  &  Co.  was  recognized 
by  law  as  authority,  and  the  Department  pamphlet  was  dis- 
continued. In  1864  it  was  revived  and  the  payments  to 
Little,  Brown  &  Co.  ceased.  They  were  restored  in  1866, 
and  the  contract  with  them  was  not  finally  terminated  until 
1N74.  Since  then  the  publication  of  the  laws  has  rested 
wholly  with  the  Secretary  of  State.  In  that  year,  also,  the 
Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States  was  provided  for. 
The  Secretary  of  State  was  also  required  to  sell  the  Revised 
Statutes  and  laws  of  each  session  ';  at  the  cost  of  the  paper, 
presswork,  and  binding,  with  10  per  cent  thereof  added 
thereto,  to  any  person  applying  for  the  same,"  but  in  [898 
the  sale  of  the  laws  passed  by  law  to  the  Superintendent  of 
Documents. 

In  the  custody  of  the-  Bureau  of  Rolls  and  Library  are 
deposited,  among  other  important  papers,  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  .States.  A  facsimile  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  made  in  1(824.  On  Jan- 
uary 2  of  that  year  was  read   in   the   House  of   Representa- 


History  and  Functions  of  Hie  Department  of  State.     35 

tives  a  letter  from  John  Quincy  Adams,  Secretary  of  .Slate, 
statins;  that  the  facsimile  had  been  made  1>v  his  direction 
and  200  copies  struck  off.  Later  a  joint  resolution  was 
passed  providing  for  their  distribution  to  various  public 
institutions  and  to  each  of  the  surviving  signers  of  the 
original.  These  were  Thomas  Jefferson,  John  Adams,  and 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton.  The  engraver  who  made  the 
copy  was  William  I.  Stone,  of  Washington.  Facsimiles 
have  been  struck  off  since  and  arc-  now  quite  common. 
The  original  has  faded  so  that  the  text  is  very  dim,  and  the 
names  of  most  of  the  signers  have  become  almost   illegible. 

The  granting  of  passports  to  American  citizens  for  their 
protection  in  traveling  abroad  became  a  function  of  the 
Government  under  the  general  provisions  of  international 
law  as  soon  as  there  was  competent  authority  for  the 
purpose. 

The  treat}- of  1778  with  France,  the  first  made  by  the 
United  States,  provided  for  a  form  of  passport  to  be  given 
b\  the  two  Governments  to  their  respective  vessels,  but  not 
till  [856  was  the  authority  of  granting  passports  restricted 
by  law  to  Federal  authority. 

In  the  absence  of  any  statute,  the  issuing  of  passports  to 
American  citizens  going  abroad  fell  to  the  Department  of 
State  as  one  of  its  manifestly  proper  functions.  Neverthe- 
less, as  they  had  doubtless  been  issued  before  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution  by  State  or  municipal  authorities,  they 
continued  to  be  so  issued  without  statutory  prohibition  until 
the  enactment  of  the  law  of  1856.  This  law  provided  that 
the  Secretary  of  State  be  authorized  to  grant  and  issue  pass- 
ports, and  cause  them  to  be  granted  and  verified  in  foreign 
countries  by  diplomatic  and  consular  officers  of  the  United 
.States  under  such  rules  as  the  President  might  prescribe. 
No  one  else  was  to  issue  passports,  and  they  must  be  issued 
to  none  but  citizens  of  the  United  States.      There  was  to  be 


36      //is/or]'  and  Functions  oj  the  Department  of  State. 

no  charge,  except  in  foreign  countries,  where  the  fee  was  to 
be  Si.  Any  person  not  authorized  to  do  so  who  granted  a 
passport  should,  upon  conviction  of  the  offense,  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a , misdemeanor  and  fined  and  imprisoned.  All 
returns  of  passports  issued  abroad  were  to  be  made  to  the 
Secretary  of  State. 

Such  returns  had,  however,  been  made  from  the  beginning; 
but  it  is  probable  that  the}'  were  not  made  regularly  or  by 
all  our  agents  abroad  who  granted  passports.  The  early 
passports  were  not  essentially  different  in  form  from  those 
now  used,  but  frequently  a  simple  certificate  of  citizenship 
was  made  to  do  duty  for  a  regular  passport. 

The  act  of  July  1,  1863,  was  the  first  one  establishing  a  pass- 
port fee,  which  was  fixed  at  $3.  This  was  increased  to  $5  bv 
act  of  June  20,  1864.  The  administering  of  the  oath  was 
done  by  a  regularly  qualified  person  haying  authority  to 
administer  oaths  for  general  purposes,  but  the  act  of  February 
3,  1870,  authorized  the  passport  clerk  in  the  Department  to 
administer  oaths  and  affirmations  on  applications  for  passports 
free  of  charge.  These  oaths  and  affirmations  are  deemed  to 
be  made  under  the  pains  and  penalties  of  perjury.  The  pass- 
port fee  was  abolished  by  act  of  July  14,  1870,  restored  by 
that  of  June  20,  1874,  and  reduced  by  act  of  .March  23,  [888, 
to  Si,  the  present  fee. 

The  system,  as  it  has  been  followed  by  the  Department 
under  the  law,  has  been  reduced  to  three  classes  of  passports: 
The  ordinary  passport,  the  special  passport,  and  that  given 
to  diplomatic  representatives  of  foreign  governments  in  their 
transit  through  the  territory  of  the  United  States. 

The  foregoing  must  be  regarded  as  a  mere  outline  sketch 
of  the  development  of  the  Department  of  .State.  The  far- 
reaching  results  of  its  work  would  fill  volumes.  These 
results  constitute  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  advancement 
in  power  and   prestige  of  the  United   States.      The  mission 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     37 

of  the  Department  is  oik- of  peace,  [ts  diplomatic  agents 
uphold  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  nation  in  the  family 
of  nations  by  peaceful  means.  Its  consular  officers  arc  the 
agents  of  track-  and  commerce,  which  prosper  most  in  times 
of  peace.  The  conclusions  fairly  reached  by  this  Depart- 
ment in  its  diplomatic  contentions  with  foreign  Govern- 
ments, involving  the  rights  of  the  Government  or  the 
humblest  citizen  of  the  United  States,  may  he-  enforced  by 
the  power  of  other  Departments.  The  supreme  head  of 
the  Department  of  State  is  the  President,  and  he  is  also  the 
Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy. 

SOME  OF    Till-:  ACHIEVEMENTS    OF    THE    DEPARTMENT. 

A  few  onlv  of  the  achievements  of  the  Department  and 
its  agents  can  be  mentioned  here.  It  was  under  the  old 
Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  that  the  treaty  of  peace  with 
Great  Britain  was  negotiated  in  1783,  and  the  United  States 
became  a  free  and  independent  state.  With  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson as  President,  James  Madison  as  Secretary  of  State, 
and  Robert  R.  Livingston  and  James  Monroe  as  their  agents 
in  Paris,  the  territory  of  Louisiana  was  bought  in  1803,  and 
our  domain  was  extended  beyond  the  Mississippi  River  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  In  1823,  when  Monroe  was  President, 
John  Quincy  Adams,  the  Secretary  of  State,  announced  to 
foreign  Governments  the  doctrine  which  more  than  seventy 
years  afterwards  Secretary  ( )lney  informed  Lord  Salisbury 
"courageously  declared  not  merely  that  Europe  ought  not 
to  interfere  in  American  affairs,  but  that  any  European 
power  doing  so  would  be  regarded  as  antagonizing  the 
interests  and  inviting  the  opposition  of  the  United  States." 

In  1 848  the  I  )epartment  negotiated  the  treaty  of  ( inadalupe 
Hidalgo,  which  terminated  the  war  with  Mexico  and  added 
an  enormous  territory  to  our  Southern  and  Western  bound- 
aries.    In  1866  William  Seward,  having  in  mind  the  doctrine 


38     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  oj  State. 

of  Monroe,  demanded  the  departure  of  the  French  army  from 
Mexico,  and  restored  the  Government  of  that  country  to  its 
people. 

In  1S71  Hamilton  Fish  negotiated  the  treat}- of  Wash  ag- 
ton  with  Great  Britain,  and  the  claims  growing  out  of 
depredations  by  Confederate  cruisers  which  had  fitted  out 
in  Great  Britain  during  onr  civil  war  were  referred  to 
an  international  tribunal  of  arbitration.  It  decided  in 
onr  favor,  and  awarded  to  the  United  States  the  sum  of 
$15,500,000. 

In  1867  Secretary  of  State  Seward  negotiated  the  pur- 
chase of  Alaska. 

In  1842  Hawaii  applied  to  the  United  States  for  recogni- 
tion. Secretary  of  State  Webster  defined  the  attitnde  of  his 
Government  toward  the  Sandwich  Islands  by  declaring  that 
the  United  States  would  oppose  to  the  last  extremity  their 
seizure  by  any  power,  and  that  we  would  respect  their  inde- 
pendence. The  assertion  of  this  purpose  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  compelled  England  in  1843,  and  France  in 
[851,  and  Russia  at  a  later  date  to  relax  their  seizure  of 
those  islands.  Secretaries  Webster,  Legare,  Clay,  Seward, 
and  Blaine  all  asserted  this  attitude  of  our  Government. 
A  treaty  was  negotiated  by  Secretary  Foster,  agreed  upon 
by  both  parties,  and  sent  to  the  Senate  by  President  Harri- 
son February  [4,  [893.  The  treat}-  was  withdrawn  by 
President  Cleveland.  President  McKinley  revived  the 
question,  and  a  treat}-  was  ratified  by  both  parties,  and 
annexation  consummated  September  16,  1898,  which 
effected  the  absorption  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  into  the 
domain  of  the  United  States. 

In  [898  the  treat}-  of  Paris  was  concluded  under  the 
direction  of  the  Department  of  State,  by  which  Porto  Rico 
and  the  Philippine  Islands  became  a  part  of  the  possessions 
of  the  United  States. 


JOHN    HAY. 


BIOGRAPHIES  AND  PORTRAITS  OF  THE  PRESENT 
OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE. 


John  Hay  was  born  in  Indiana  in  1838;  was  graduated 
from  Brown  University,  and  studied  law  in  Springfield,  111.; 
was  Assistant  Secretary  to  President  Lincoln  through  his 
term  of  office,  and  served  for  a  time  as  Assistant  Adjutant- 
General  with  Generals  Hunter  and  Gillmore;  was  Secretary 
of  Legation  at  Paris  in  1865  to  1867,  and  Charge  d' Affaires 
at  Vienna  in  1 867-1 868;  afterwards  he  was  Secretary  of 
Legation  at  Madrid  a  year;  was  for  five  years  an  editorial 
writer  on  the  New  York  Tribune,  and  for  a  time  Editor-in- 
Chief.  In  the  Administration  of  President  Hayes  he  was 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State;  in  1881  he  was  President  of 
the  International  Sanitary  Congress  in  Washington. 
When  President  McKinley  assumed  office  Colonel  Hay  was 
appointed  Ambassador  to  the  Court  of  St  James,  from 
which  post  he  was  called  to  Washington  as  Secretarv  of 
State.  He  has  published  Castilian  Days,  a  biography  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  (with  John  G.  Nicolay),  and  a  volume 
of  poems.  Was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  September 
jo,  r8p8,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  September  ?o,  1898. 

Mr.  Hay  is  a  member  of  the  American  Institute  of  Arts 
and  Letters;  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  and  other  learned 
societies  of  America  and  Europe;  has  received  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  the  Western  Reserve  University, 
from  Brown,  and  from  Princeton;  was  invited  to  Harvard 
for  that  purpose  in  1901  but  was  prevented  from  going  by 
a  domestic  bereavement. 

4089 — 01 4  39 


4o     History  and  Finn /ions  of  the  Department  of  State, 

DAVID  JAYNE  Hill,  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  was 
born  in  Plainfield,  X.  J.,  June  i<>,  1850;  was  graduated 
from  Bncknell  University  (Pennsylvania)  in  1874,  with  the 
degree  of  A.  B.;  and  in  1877  with  the  degree  of  A.  M.; 
received  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  from  Colgate  University; 
studied  at  the  Universities  of  Berlin  and  Paris;  was  presi- 
dent of  Bncknell  University  (Pennsylvania),  1 879-1 888,  and 
of  the  University  of  Rochester  (New  York),  1 888-1896, 
which  latter  position  he  resigned  to  pursue  the  study  of 
public  law  of  Europe,  to  which  he  devoted  two  years;  was 
appointed  Assistant  Secretary  of  State  October  2,  1898, 
while  residing  in  Holland,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  on 
October  25. 

Dr.  Hill  began  his  work  of  authorship  at  the  age  of  16, 
his  first  attempt  being  a  campaign  life  of  General  Grant. 
His  text-books  on  rhetoric  have  been  used  in  every  State 
and  Territory,  and  his  biographies  of  Irving  and  Bryant 
won  for  him  reputation  as  a  literary  critic  at  the  age  of  25. 
Later  he  devoted  himself  to  the  abstract  sciences,  preparing 
text-books  for  colleges  on  logic  and  psychology  as  well  as 
works  on  economics,  socialogv,  and  philosophy. 

In  1 896  he  introduced  into  campaign  literature  the  idea 
of  the  serious  pamphlet  constructed  upon  the  model  of  a 
text-book,  and  his  Primer  of  Finance  had  a  wide  influence 
in  diffusing  scientific  ideas  on  the  subject  of  money.  In 
1900  his  pamphlets  on  the  questions  of  the  currency  and 
imperialism  were  published  in  large  editions  in  both  English 
and  ( jcrman. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Authors  Club  of  New  York,  the 
Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  and  many  scientific  and 
literary  societies. 

During  his  residence  abroad  he  made  use  of  the  libraries 
and  archives  of  Europe  in  careful  researches  in  diplomatic 
history,  a  subject  upon  which  he  has  delivered  courses  of 
lectures  in  the  School  of   Comparative  Jurisprudence  and 


DAVID   J.    HILL 


ALVEY    A.    ADEE. 


THOMAS   W.    CRIDLER. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  <>/  State.      \\ 

Diplomacy  at  Washington.  Since  his  resignation  from  the 
University  of  Rochester  he  has  been  offered  the  presidency 
of  other  universities,  which  honors  he  has  declined.  He 
has,  however,  delivered  main-  public  addresses  upon  aca- 
demic occasions. 

Ai.yky   AUGUSTUS  ADEE,  Second   Assistant   Secretary  of 

State,  was  born  in  Astoria,  N.  Y.,  November  27,  1842;  was 
prepared  for  college  by  private  tutors,  and  was  graduated 
from  Vale  with  the  degree  of  M.  A.;  was  appointed  Sec- 
retary of  Legation  at  Madrid  September  9,  1870,  and  was 
Charge*  d' Affaires  at  different  times;  was  transferred  from 
Madrid  and  appointed  a  clerk  of  class  4  in  the  Department 
of  State  Julv  9,  1 S - 7 ;  was  made  Chief  of  the  Diplomatic 
Bureau  June  11,  1878;  became  Third  Assistant  Secretary  of 
State  July  18,  18S2;  and  was  appointed  Second  Assistant 
Secretary  of  State  August  3,  1886.  Mr.  Adee  has  been  a 
close  student  of  Shakespeare  and  is  an  acknowledged  au- 
thority on  his  writings. 

Thomas  Wilbur  Cridlkr,  Third  Assistant  Secretary  of 
State,  was  born  at  Harpers  Ferry,  W.  Va.,  November  13, 
[850;  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Virginia  and 
the  public  schools  of  Washington;  entered  the  Department 
of  State  July  r,  1875,  as  a  clerk;  passed  through  the  vari- 
ous grades  and  became  chief  of  the  Diplomatic  Bureau  July 
15,  1889;  was  special  disbursing  agent  of  the  monetary 
commission  which  met  at  Brussels,  Belgium,  in  1892;  was 
appointed  Third  Assistant  Secretary  of  State  April  8,  1897. 
Mr.  Cridler  was  present  at  the  signing  of  the  Spanish- 
American  peace  protocol,  and  was  special  commissioner  of 
the  United  States  to  the  Paris  Exposition,  1900.  He  has 
visited  Europe  several  times  on  special  duty  by  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  State. 


CHIEF  CLERK'S  OFFICE. 

William  Henry  Michael,  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  State,  was  born  in  Marysville,  Union  County,  ( )hio, 
Julv  14,  1845;  removed  with  his  parents  to  Iowa  when  5 
years  of  age;  was  educated  in  the  common  school,  Bacon's 
College,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  the  State  University  of  Iowa; 
taught  school;  enlisted  in  Company  B,  nth  Iowa  Infantry, 
September,  1861,  and  served  one  year,  when  he  was  honor- 
ably discharged  on  account  of  injuries  received  in  battle; 
when  sufficiently  recovered  to  reenter  the  service  was  coin- 
missioned  in  the  Navy  and  served  at  the  front  in  that 
branch  of  the  service  three  years;  was  promoted  for  gallant 
conduct  in  battle  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  com- 
mander of  his  vessel  and  the  Admiral  commanding  the 
squadron;  resigned  from  the  Navy  in  1866,  and  was  honor- 
ably discharged  with  thanks;  was  selected  by  the  commis- 
sion appointed  by  the  legislature  of  Iowa  for  a  place  on  the 
monument  erected  in  memory  of  the  soldiers,  sailors,  and 
marines  who  served  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  from  that 
State  on  account  of  his  record  for  "  long  and  gallant  service." 

After  an  absence  of  five  years  on  account  of  the  war,  Mr. 
Michael  returned  to  school  and  entered  the  University  of 
Iowa,  where  he  remained  till  poor  health,  due  to  his  Army 
and  Navy  service,  compelled  him  to  give  up  his  course.  He 
sought  recuperation  in  the  open  air  by  engaging  in  land 
surveying.  From  that  he  drifted  into  journalism,  first  as  a 
correspondent  and  then  as  editor;  was  city  editor  of  the 
Daily  (Iowa)  Sioux  City  Journal,  and  subsequently  editor 
and  proprietor  at  different  times  of  six  prominent  Republican 
newspapers  in  Nebraska;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1880 
42 


WILLIAM    H.    MICHAEL. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Slate.     43 

and  gave  up  journalism  for  the  law.  In  1876  he  declined 
the  nomination  for  Secretary  of  State  of  Nebraska;  was 
alternate  Presidential  elector  for  that  year,  and  canvassed 
the  State  thoroughly;  was  orator  of  the  State  Editors' Asso- 
ciation for  three  years;  member  of  the  Republican  State 
central  committee;  member  of  the  Congressional  central 
committee;  secretary  many  times  of  Republican  State,  and 
chairman  of  Congressional,  conventions;  in  1884  declined 
the  position  of  United  States  Marshal  for  his  State;  in 
[887  accepted  the  position  of  Clerk  of  Printing  Records, 
United  States  Senate,  as  the  successor  of  Ben:  Perley  Poore, 
and  held  that  position  till  the  Democrats  gained  control 
in  [893;  was  editor  and  compiler  of  the  Congressional 
Directory;  editor  of  the  Abridgment  of  Messages  and  Doc- 
uments, and  clerk  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing  of  the 
two  Houses  of  Congress. 

Resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  1894,  and  was  engaged  in 
one  of  the  most  celebrated  cases  involving  the  rights  of 
adoptive  parents  and  children  ever  tried  in  the  United  States. 
During  this  trial  Mr.  Michael  wrote  a  treatise  on  the  Rights 
of  Adoptive  Parents  and  Adoptive  Children,  the  onlv  work 
of  the  kind  ever  prepared.  In  1895  again  discharged  the 
duties  of  editor  of  the  Congressional  Directory,  the  Abridg- 
ment of  Messages  and  Documents,  and  the  general  work  of 
the  Printing  Committee  of  the  Senate.  While  thus  con- 
nected with  that  body,  he  compiled  and  edited,  under  con- 
tract with  the  Senate,  the  Customs  Laws  of  the  United 
States  from  1798  to  1897,  and  the  u  Laws  of  the  United 
States  Navy  and  Marine  Corps,  with  annotations  and  refer- 
ences to  decisions  of  the  Federal  courts  and  opinions  of 
Attorneys-General,  together  with  a  digest  of  the  decisions  of 
the  Federal  courts  and  opinions  of  Attorneys-General  con- 
struing United  States  statutes  relating  to  the  Navy  and 
Marine  Corps." 


44     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Stair. 

In  addition  to  his  official  work,  Mr.  Michael  was  corre- 
spondent for  the  Sioux  City  Daily  Journal  and  the  Iowa 
State-  Register,  and  contributed  to  magazines.  He  wrote  a 
serial  history  of  the  Mississippi  Squadron  for  the  National 
Tribune.  In  1888  he  wrote  for  the  Republican  National 
Committee  a  book  entitled  Better  Dead  than  Homeless,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  simplify  the  tariff  question  and  make 
it  attractive  to  persons  unwilling  to  read  speeches  and  pam- 
phlets on  that  subject.  This  book  was  largely  circulated 
in  cloth  and  paper  cover  in  the  campaign  of  1888,  and  a 
second  edition  of  nearly  a  million  copies  was  circulated  by 
the  National  Committee  in  1892.  This  story  was  also  run 
as  a  serial  in  several  weeklies. 

In  [897  Mr.  Michael  was  appointed  Chief  Clerk  of  the 
I  kpartnient  of  vState,  which  position  he  now  holds.  In  1  896 
he  was  engaged  by  the  Repnblican  National  Committee  as 
a  campaign  writer,  and  a  large  edition  of  his  speech  on  Sol- 
diers' and  Sailors'  Rights  was  circulated  by  the  committee 
as  a  campaign  document.  His  review  of  Bryan's  record 
affecting  the  soldiers  was  considered  effective  in  rallying 
the  soldier  and  sailor  element  solidly  to  the  support  of  the 
Republican  ticket.  In  1900  he  wrote  The  Homesteader's 
Daughter,  a  Western  story,  in  which  all  the  questions  of  the 
campaign  win-  reviewed.  Mr.  Michael  is  a  member  of  the 
Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  has  been  department 
commander  in  the  Union  Veterans'  Union,  is  a  member  of 
the  (i.  A.  R.,  and  an  honorary  member  of  other  soldier 
organizations.  He  is  interested  in  American  National  Red 
Cross  work,  and  is  a  member  of  the-  National  Hoard  of  Control 
of  that  international  organization.  He  was  representative 
of  the  Department  of  State  on  tin-  Government  Board  of 
Management,  Trans-Mississippi  and  International  Exposi- 
tion at  (  )maha,  Nebr.,  and  occupies  the  same  position  in  con- 
nection with  the  Pan-American  Exposition  at  Buffalo,  N.  V. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     45 

The  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Department  of  State  is  its  execu- 
tive officer  tinder  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 
He  has  the  general  supervision  of  the  clerks  and  employees 

and  of  the  business  of  the  Department.  Each  clerk  is 
required  to  record  the  daily  time  of  his  arrival  at  and  depar- 
ture from  the  Department,  and  at  the  end  of  each  month 
these  reports  are  filed  with  the  Chief  Clerk.  No  clerk  is 
allowed  to  leave  the  building  during  office  hours  without 
the  express  permission  of  the  Chief  Clerk,  who  is  thus  in  a 
position  to  know  at  all  times  what  force  he  has  available 
for  the  extra  work  the  exigencies  of  the  service  ma)-  at  any 
time  call  for.  The  absence  from  the  Department  of  each 
clerk  or  employee  is  deducted  from  his  animal  leave  of  thirtv 
daws  allowed  by  law,  unless  absent  on  account  of  sickness. 
After  the  daily  mail  is  received  at  the  Department, 
opened,  and  indexed  in  the  index  room,  as  more  completely 
set  forth  in  the  report  of  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Indexes 
and  Archives  (see  page  74)  it  is  placed  on  the  Chief  Clerk's 
desk,  read  by  the  Chief  Clerk,  and  distributed  among  the 
Assistant  Secretaries  for  their  action.  During  the  day  the 
Chief  Clerk  receives  all  persons  having  business  with  the 
Department,  other  than  those  whose  business  is  of  such  a 
character  as  to  require  the  personal  hearing  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  or  the  Assistant  Secretaries.  It  not  unfrequently 
happens  that  the  Chief  Clerk  is  able  to  save  the  Secretary  of 
State  from  much  needless  interruption  by  ascertaining  and 
disposing  of  the  business  of  visitors  who  would  otherwise 
think  it  necessary  to  see  the  Secretary.  Business  of  this 
character  involves  inquiries  in  regard  to  passports,  extra- 
dition of  criminals,  publications  of  the  State  and  other 
Departments;  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  applications  for 
free  entries  by  foreign  ministers;  inquiries  on  all  subjects 
from  members  of  the  press;  inquiries  bearing  on  historical 
questions  contained   in   the   Revolutionary  archives  of  the 


46     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  <>/  State. 

Department,  and,  in  brief,  all  questions  properly  referable 
to  the  Department  of  State. 

After  the  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretaries  have  given 
(usually  by  written  memorandum)  their  directions  as  to 
what  action  is  to  be  taken  by  the  Department  upon  the 
various  written  communications  addressed  to  it,  the  mail  is 
returned  to  the  Chief  Clerk's  desk,  and  again  by  him  dis- 
tributed to  the  bureaus  charged  with  the  execution  of  the 
instructions  thus  given. 

In  the  afternoon  the  mail  prepared  for  the  signature  of 
the  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretaries,  and  embodying 
their  instructions,  is  delivered  to  the  Chief  Clerk,  who  reads 
it  carefully  and  forwards  it  to  the  Secretary  and  Assistant 
Secretaries  for  their  respective  signatures.  He  also  has 
charge  of  the  copying  and  arrangement  of  correspondence 
called  for  by  resolutions  of  Congress.  The  Chief  Clerk  is 
expected  to  be  ready  to  answer  the  call  of  the  Secretary  and 
Assistant  Secretaries  and  inquiries  from  chiefs  of  bureaus 
and  clerks  when  more  particular  directions  are  required  as 
to  the  disposition  of  work.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Chief  Clerk 
to  generally  supervise  the  sending  of  the  foreign  mails  from 
the  Department,  and  to  gtiard  the  privacy  of  the  closed 
pouches,  as  it  is  also  his  duty  to  enforce  discipline  in  mat- 
ters looking  to  the  efficiency  of  the  laborers  and  inuring  to 
the  genera!  comfort  of  the  Department.  Me  is  also  charged 
with  the  duty  of  enciphering  and  deciphering  all  telegrams 
sent  or  received  in  cipher  by  the  Department. 

The  Chief  Clerk  has  two  clerks  in  his  room  who  assist 
him  in  such  manner  each  day  as  their  services  may  seem  to 
be  most  useful  in  the  transaction  of  the  public  business. 


SYDNEY    Y.    SMITH. 


DIPLOMATIC  BUREAU. 

SYDNEY  V.  SMITH,  Chief  of  Bureau. 

Sydney  Yost  Smith  was  bora  in  the  city  of  Washington 
November  28,  1857;  entered  the  Department  of  vState  Jnlv 
1,  1 88 1,  as  a  clerk  of  the  #900  class;  passed  through  the 
various  grades  of  the  service,  and  was  appointed  Chief  of 
the  Diplomatic  Bureau  April  8,  1897;  during  the  intervening 
period  acted  in  the  capacity  of  private  secretary  to  Secretaries 
Frelinghuysen,  Blaine,  and  Foster,  and  as  confidential  clerk 
to  Assistant  Secretaries  Davis,  Porter,  and  Rives. 


The  Diplomatic  Bureau  is  charged,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  State  and  his  assistants,  with  the  conduct 
of  tlie  diplomatic  correspondence,  both  with  the  embassies 
and  legations  of  the  United  States  abroad  and  with  the 
embassies  and  legations  of  foreign  nations  at  Washington, 
and  of  the  miscellaneous  correspondence  relating  thereto. 

For  the  performance  of  its  work  the  Bureau  has  one  chief, 
three  divisional  clerks,  one  assistant,  six  typewriters,  and 
one  copyist.  The  correspondence  with  all  the  countries  is 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Chief  of  Bureau,  divided  among 
tlie  divisional  clerks  as  follows  : 

a.  Austria-Hungary,  Belgium,  Denmark,  France,  Ger- 
many, Great  Britain,  Greece,  The  Netherlands,  Roumania, 
Servia,  and  Switzerland,  and  the  miscellaneous  correspond- 
ence relating  to  those  countries. 

47 


4-s     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  <>/  State. 

/>.  Argentine  Republic,  Bolivia,  Brazil,  Chile,  Colombia, 
Ecuador,  Haiti,  Paraguay,  Peru,  Portugal,  Russia,  Santo  Do- 
mingo, Spain,  Sweden  and  Norway,  and  Venezuela,  and  the 
miscellaneous  correspondence  relating  to  those  countries. 

c.  China,  Costa  Rica,  Guatemala,  Honduras,  Japan, 
Korea,  Liberia,  Mexico,  Nicaragua,  Persia,  Siam,  and  Tur- 
key, and  other  countries  not  assigned,  and  miscellaneous 
correspondence  relating  to  those  countries. 

The  work  divides  itself,  first,  into  the  examination,  consid- 
eration, and  discussion  of  diplomatic  questions,  such  as 
treaties,  claims,  questions  of  international  law  and  policy, 
etc.,  and,  second,  purely  routine  matters,  such  as  the  prepa- 
ration of  letters  of  credence  and  recall  and  other  ceremonial 
letters,  the  reference  of  requests  of  foreign  diplomatic  agents 
in  the  United  States  for  the  free  entry  of  articles  sent  them 
from  abroad  to  the  Treasury  Department,  and  the  answering 
of  the  many  inquiries  received  relating  to  the  status  of  mat- 
ters before  the  Department.  The  preparations  of  papers 
called  for  by  resolutions  of  Congress  is  also  largely  per- 
formed by  this  Bureau,  and  the  preparation  of  treaties  for 
.signatures. 

The  incoming  correspondence  is  received  from  the  Chief 
Clerk.  Each  paper  on  reaching  the  Bureau  is  stamped  with 
the  date  of  its  receipt,  examined  by  the  chief  of  the  Bureau, 
and  turned  over  with  appropriate  directions  to  the  proper 
divisional  clerk.  The  action  taken  by  him  is  indorsed  on 
the  paper,  when  it  is  returned  to  the  chief  of  the  Bureau. 
By  12  o'clock  the  outgoing  mail  for  the  day  is  ready  for  the 
Secretary's  attention  and  signature  and  is  sent  to  the  Chief 
Clerk  for  that  purpose.  It  returns  signed  about  two  hours 
later,  in  time,  as  a  rule,  to  be  press  copied  and  put  up  for 
the  evening  mail  at  .peach  divisional  clerk  attending  to  the 
correspondence  of  his  respective  countries.  The  hours  of 
the  afternoon  are  occupied  in   preparing  the  mail   for  the 


History  and  {'"unctions  of  the  Department  of  Slate.     49 

following  morning.  The  typewriters,  some  of  whom  are 
also  employed  as  translators,  arc  steadily  occupied  all  day 
in  copying  and  comparing  the  work  allotted  to  them,  with 
occasional  assistance  from  copyists  in  other  bureaus. 

The  chief  of  the  Bureau  in  the  meantime  verifies  the 
copies  of  the  preceding  day's  mail;  checks  them  off  on  the 
papers  to  which  they  are  replies,  sending  both  to  the  index 
bureau  to  be  filed;  reads  over,  distributes,  and  gives  direc- 
tions concerning  the  new  matter  which  is  constantly  arriv- 
ing, and  perforins  such  personal  duties  as  are  necessary  to 
avoid  interrupting  the  divisional  clerks  too  much  in  their 
work,  besides  investigating  and  reporting  upon  such  matters 
as  are  directly  referred  to  him  by  the  Secretary  and  Assistant 
Secretaries. 


CONSULAR    BURKAU. 

ROBERT  S.  CHILTON,  Jr.,   Chief  of  Bureau. 

Robert  S.  Chilton,  Jr.,  Chief  of  the  Consular  Bureau, 
was  born  in  Washington,  D.  C,  1861;  resided  in  Canada  from 
1N71  to  1877  with  his  father,  who  at  that  time  was  consul 
at  Clifton,  Ontario;  entered  Consular  Bureau  in  1877  as  a 
clerk  and  received  various  promotions;  resigned  fourth-class 
clerkship  in  [889  to  accept  appointment  as  private  secretary 
to  Vice-President  Levi  P.  Morton;  resigned  this  position  near 
the  end  of  Mr.  Morton's  term  to  accept  appointment  as  Chief 
Clerk  of  the  Department  of  vState;  was  reduced  to  fourth- 
class  clerkship  upon  change  of  administration;  later  sent  to 
Turkey  to  open  newly  established  consulate  at  Erzerum, 
hut  through  refusal  of  Turkish  Government  to  grant  exe- 
quatur was  unable  to  get  beyond  Trebizond.  While  in 
Turkey  was  appointed  Chief  of  the  Consular  bureau  and 
ordered  home;  made  a  tour  of  inspection  of  consulates  in 
[896  and  [897,  visiting  Canada,  Cuba,  Mexico,  Europe, 
Egypt,  Ceylon,  Singapore,  China,  Japan,  and  Honolulu. 


The  Consular  bureau  has  charge  of  all  correspondence 
with  consular  officers,  and  incidental  thereto  of  correspond- 
ence with  the  several  Executive  Departments,  the  account- 
ing officers  of  the  Treasury,  and  with  individuals,  on  subjects 
which  in  some  way  relate-  to  or  involve  the  services  of  con- 
sular officers.     The  correspondence  is  of  a  varied  character 


ROBERT   S.    CHILTON.   JR. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     51 

and  is  difficult  to  describe;  hut   it  may  be  said  generally  to 

include  instructions  to  consular  officers  in  regard  to  com- 
mercial matters,  relief,  protection,  and  accounts  of  seamen, 
the  protection  of  United  States  citizens  abroad,  the  settle- 
ment ot  estates  of  Americans  dying  abroad,  sanitary  reports 
and  inspections  of  vessels,  undervaluation  of  goods,  certifi- 
cations of  invoices,  accounts  for  salary  and  expenses,  etc., 
and  correspondence  incidental  thereto  with  Departments  and 
individuals. 

In  addition  to  its  correspondence  the  Consular  Bureau  is 
much  occupied  with  personal  interviews  with  consular 
officers  while  in  Washington  on  their  way  to  their  posts  or 
on  leave  of  absence,  and  with  retiring  consuls  who  come  to 
Washington  to  settle  their  accounts.  The  interviews  are 
usually  with  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
give  all  necessary  instructions  to  newly  appointed  consuls, 
and  to  answer  questions  of  others  who  call  in  regard  to 
matters  connected  with  the  consular  sendee.  This  branch 
oi  the  work  is  especially  heavy  when,  through  a  change  of 
Administration,  many  consuls  are  passing  through  the  city 
going  to  or  returning  from  their  posts.  The  Chief  of  the 
bureau  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  examination  for  con- 
sular appointments,  and  under  his  direction  all  examina- 
tions are  prepared  and  conducted.  This  duty  adds  very 
materially  to  the  work  of  the  Bureau.  The  examinations 
proper  are  usually  in  writing,  but  the  applicants  are  all 
informally  questioned  orally.  The  Bureau  is  expected  also 
to  have  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  personnel  of  the  serv- 
ice and  to  be  prepared  to  give  information  in  regard  thereto 
when  desired  by  the  Secretary  or  Assistant  Secretaries,  and 
it  is  constantly  called  upon  in  such  matters  when  appoint- 
ments are  being  made. 

In  time  of  war  with  a  foreign  country  consular  officers 
are   required    to   watch    and    report    the  movements  of  the 


52      History  and  Functions  <>/  tin-  Department  of  Slate. 

enemy's  ships,  to  report  and  prevent,  if  possible,  the  fitting 
out  of  privateers  and  other  infractions  of  neutrality  laws,  to 
carry  out  instructions  for  the  purchase  of  coal  and  other 
supplies  for  our  vessels,  and  generally  to  do  everything  in 
their  power  to  aid  the  Government  in  carrying  on  the  war. 
This  involves  much  correspondence  with  consuls,  by  cable 
and  through  the  mails,  of  a  delicate  and  strictly  confiden- 
tial nature. 

The  estimates  for  appropriations  and  explanatory  letters 
to  Congress  are  also  prepared  by  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau, 
and  allowances  for  clerks,  messengers,  interpreters,  guards, 
marshals,  etc.,  are  made  on  his  recommendations. 

The  consular  service  embraces  in  all  about  800  officers, 
scattered  over  all  the  world,  and  about  half  of  these  corre- 
spond directly  with  the  Department.  The  subjects  embraced 
in  this  vast  correspondence  are  varied,  and  the  daily  mail 
is  an  interesting  budget  of  information  from  all  quarters  of 
the  earth.  Now  that  American  enterprise  is  reaching  out  to 
distant  lands  for  markets  for  its  manufactures  the  consular 
service  is  becoming  daily  of  greater  importance,  and  much 
of  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from  it  as  a  means  of  extending 
and  protecting  our  interests  abroad  depends  upon  the  man- 
agement of  the  Consular  Bureau. 

All  communications  received  from  consuls  are  first  indexed 
Uv  the  Bureau  of  Indexes  and  Archives,  and  the  more  impor- 
tant ones  read  by  the  Assistant  Secretary  having  charge  of 
consular  matters.  The  dispatches  then  come  to  this  Bureau, 
where  they  are  read  by  the  chief  of  the  Bureau,  who  indi- 
cates the  reply  to  be  made  to  such  as  have  not  already  had 
replies  indicated  by  the  Assistant  Secretary.  The  dis- 
patches, except  those  relating  to  appointments,  allowances, 
and  supplies,  are  then  distributed  by  the  chief  of  the  Bureau 
to  the  correspondence  clerks,  each  of  whom  is  charged  with 
tin-  ] (reparation  of  all  correspondence  with  consular  offices 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Slate.     53 

in  countries  assigned  to  him.     The  work   is  now  in  charge 

of  three  clerks,  and  is  divided  as  follows  : 

1.  Correspondence  with  Germany  and  Great  Britain  and 
their  dependencies,  together  with  the  miscellaneous  corre- 
spondence connected  therewith. 

2.  Correspondence  with  Argentine  Republic,  Austria- 
Hungary,  Belgium,  Brazil,  Chile,  Denmark,  Greece,  Italy, 
Netherlands,  Paraguay,  Pern,  Portugal,  Russia,  Spain, 
Sweden  and  Norway,  Switzerland,  Uruguay,  and  their 
dependencies,  together  with  the  miscellaneous"  correspond- 
ence connected  therewith. 

3.  Correspondence  with  the  Barbary  States,  Bolivia,  Cen- 
tral America,  Colombia,  China,  Ecuador,  Egypt,  France, 
Friendly  and  Navigators  Islands,  Haiti,  Japan,  Liberia, 
Madagascar,  Mexico,  Mascat,  Santo  Domingo,  Siam,  Tur- 
key, Venezuela,  and  other  countries  unassigned,  with  their 
dependencies,  together  with  the  miscellaneous  correspond- 
ence connected  therewith. 

Each  clerk  conducts  the  correspondence  of  which  he  has 
charge,  drafts  the  replies  to  be  made  to  the  dispatches,  has 
them  typewritten  in  the  form  of  instructions,  and  then  sub- 
mits them  to  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau  for  approval,  after 
which  the>-  are  sent  to  the  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Department, 
who  distributes  them  among  the  proper  officials  for  signa- 
ture. In  case  it  is  necessary,  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau  or  the 
clerk  in  charge  of  a  division  of  correspondence  prepares  a 
report  on  the  history  of  a  subject  to  which  a  dispatch  relates. 
The  report,  accompanied  by  the  previous  correspondence  on 
the  subject,  is  then  submitted  to  the  Assistant  Secretarv,  by 
whom  a  decision  is  made  as  to  the  action  to  be  taken.  The 
report  is  then  returned  to  the  Bureau  and  an  appropriate 
reply  is  prepared.  In  matters  of  importance  the  reports  and 
instructions  are  prepared  by  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau. 

After  the  instructions  and  letters  have  been  signed  they 


54     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  <>/  State. 

are  indexed  by  the  Bureau  of  Indexes  and  Archives  and 
returned  to  the  Consular  Bureau,  where  they  are  placed  in 
change  of  a  clerk,  under  whose  supervision  they  are  press 
copied  and  mailed.  To  this  clerk  is  also  assigned  the  duty 
of  recording  bonds,  sending  ont  circulars  to  consular  officers, 
and  duties  of  a  like  nature. 

The  replies  to  all  communications  relating  to  appoint- 
ments, allowances  to  consulates  in  the  way  of  messenger 
service  and  clerk  hire,  leaves  of  absence,  supplies,  etc.,  are 
drafted  by  a  clerk  who  has  charge  of  the  correspondence  in 
regard  to  such  matters,  and  who  keeps  a  record  of  all  nota- 
rial fees  received  by  consuls,  a  record  of  leaves  of  absence 
of  consuls,  together  with  their  whereabouts  while  on  leave, 
and  a  record  of  the  dates  of  transfer  of  consular  offices  to 
new  appointees. 

Requests  for  information  on  commercial  matters  are  at 
frequent  intervals  received  from  the  Bureau  of  Foreign 
Commerce,  and  are  by  the  Consular  Bureau  put  into  the 
form  of  instructions  and  sent  to  consular  officers.  The 
replies  of  consular  officers  to  these  instructions  are,  when 
received,  sent  to  the  Bureau  of  Foreign  Commerce  for 
publication  in  Consular  Reports  or  transmission  to  other 
Departments. 

In  like  manner  requests  from  other  Executive  Depart- 
ments for  information  on  various  subjects  are  by  the  Con- 
sular Bureau  transmitted  to  consular  officers,  and  their 
replies  in  turn  sent  to  the  Departments  by  which  the  infor- 
mation was  requested. 

The  Consular  Bureau  has  charge  also  of  recommending 
the  presentation  of  testimonials  to  masters  and  seamen  of 
foreign  vessels  for  rescuing  American  seamen,  in  case  of 
wreck  or  other  mishap  to  an  American  vessel. 


THOMAS    MORRISON. 


BUREAU  OF  ACCOUNTS. 

THOMAS  MORRISON.  Chief  of  Bureau. 

Thomas  MORRISON,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Accounts 
and  Disbursing  Clerk  of  the  Department  of  State,  was  born 
in  Quebec,  Canada,  in  1S43;  removed  at  the  age  of  10  with 
his  parents  to  Ohio;  received  a  public  school  and  academic 
education  at  Milan,  Ohio.  Served  as  clerk  and  telegrapher 
in  the  office  of  the  train  dispatcher  of  the  Sandusky,  Dav- 
ton  and  Cincinnati  R.  R.  in  Sandusky,  Ohio;  was  member 
of  Douglas  Light  Infantry  of  Urbana,  Ohio,  which  company 
formed  part  of  Second  (  )hio  Regiment  in  brigade  under 
General  Schenck;  served  under  General  Schenek  in  three 
months'  service,  after  which  he  entered  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  and  served  in  it,  and  on  detached  duty  during  the 
war  under  Generals  McClellan,  Fitz  John  Porter,  Rufus 
King,  Franklin,  Ingalls,  and  Grant.  After  the  battle  of 
Malvern  Hill  was  ordered  from  Harrisons  Landing,  Ya.,  to 
Jamestown  Island,  James  River,  in  command  of  company 
of  detailed  men  with  material  to  construct  a  telegraph  line 
between  the  island  and  Williamsburg,  Ya.,  and  open  up 
communication  by  wire  with  Washington  via  Fortress 
Monroe,  and  by  dispatch  boat  from  the  island  to  the  com- 
manding officer  at  Harrisons  Landing;  returned  to  the  island 
after  communication  was  established  with  Fort  Monroe,  and 
remained  there  till  the  evacuation  of  the  Peninsula;  was 
ordered  to  Washington  from  Yorktown  for  special  duty  at 
the  War   Department  and  at   the   Washington   Arsenal,  and 


56     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

served  at  both  places  until  assigned  to  duty  at  General 
Grant's  headquarters  at  City  Point.  Served  under  General 
Grant  till  the  close  of  the  war.  Located  at  Millers  Place, 
Suffolk  County,  X.  Y.,  immediately  after  the  war,  from  which 
place  he  entered  the  Department  of  State,  at  Washington,  at 
Si, 200  per  annum;  was  promoted  successively  to  Si, 600  and 
Si, 800.  Had  charge  of  and  examination  for  approval  of 
all  the  diplomatic  and  consular  accounts,  bills  of  exchange- 
of  ministers  and  consuls,  and  the  preparation  of  the  same 
for  payment;  was  also  in  charge  of  the  telegraph  bureau  of 
the  Department;  was  promoted  to  chief  of  the  Bureau  of 
Accounts  and  disbursing  clerk  in  April,  1900. 


The  Bureau  of  Accounts  has  the  supervision  and  records 
of  all  moneys  and  appropriations,  and  accounts  therefor, 
received  and  disbursed  by  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  State 
1  ir  subject  to  his  control.  Such  accounts  may  be  classified 
under  the  following  heads: 

1.  International  indemnities  or  trust  funds. 

2.  Diplomatic  and  consular  accounts. 

3.  Accounts  of  the  Department  proper. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  classes  of  accounts,  this 
Bureau  has  charge  of — 

4.  Passports. 

All  moneys  received  by  the  United  States  from  foreign 
governments  as  indemnities  are  paid  to  the  Department  of 
State.  Under  an  act  approved  February  27,  1896,  all  moneys 
received  by  the  Secretary  of  State  from  foreign  governments 
and  other  sources,  in  trust  for  citizens  of  the  United  States 
or  others,  are  covered  into  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 
The  amounts  due  claimants  respectively  from  each  of  such 
trust  funds  are  determined  in  the  Bureau  of  Accounts,  and 
the  amounts  as  found  due  are  certified  by  the  Secretary  of 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Stale.     57 

State  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  payment.  A 
complete  record  of  the  receipts  and  disbursements  on  account 
of  these  funds  is  kept. 

The  accounts  of  ministers  for  salary  and  contingent 
expenses;  the  salary  accounts  of  secretaries  of  legations  and 
charges;  the  accounts  of  consuls  for  contingent  expenses, 
clerk  hire,  compensation  of  interpreters  and  guard,  etc.,  and 
all  accounts  of  ministers  and  consuls  for  expenses  incurred 
in  pursuance  of  special  authorization  or  by  reason  of  emer- 
gencies in  the  service  are  approved  by  the  Secretary  of 
State,  or  one  of  the  Assistant  Secretaries,  before  being  sent 
to  the  accounting  officers  of  the  Treasury  for  final  settle- 
ment. The  approval  is  not  given  until  it  has  been  ascer- 
tained by  an  examination  in  this  Bureau  that  the  accounts 
are  in  every  detail  in  accordance  with  law  and  regulations. 
A  complete  record  of  these  accounts  is  entered  upon  the 
books  of  the  Bureau.  Those  of  the  United  States  ministers 
and  consuls  who  have  not  been  given  letters  of  credit  upon 
the  United  States  bankers  in  London  make  drafts  upon  the 
Secretary  of  State  in  settlement  of  these  accounts,  which 
drafts  are  recorded  in  this  Bureau,  and  requisitions  for  the 
amounts  are  drawn  upon  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasure  in 
payment  thereof. 

The  chief  of  this  Bureau  is  also  the  disbursing  clerk 
of  the  Department,  and  as  such  disburses  the  various  depart- 
mental appropriations  made  by  Congress.  The  regular  offi- 
cers, clerks,  and  employees  of  the  Department  are  paid  their 
salary  on  the  last  day  of  each  month.  Upon  the  completion 
of  the  services  rendered  by  a  special  employee,  or  delivery  of 
articles  purchased  upon  an  order  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
a  bill  for  such  services  or  articles  purchased  is  presented  to 
the  Department  and  referred  to  the  Bureau  of  Accounts, 
where  it  is  transcribed  on  a  regular  form  of  voucher,  upon 
which  the  appropriation  against  which  the  amount  is  to  be 
4089 — o  1 6 


58     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  0/  State. 

charged  is  designated,  and  the  voucher  is  then  transmitted 
to  the  payee  for  signature,  and,  after  being  approved  bv  the 
proper  officer  of  the  Department,  a  check  in  payment  is 
mailed  to  the  payee  by  the  disbursing  clerk.  The  voucher 
is  then  properly  indorsed  and  entered  upon  the  books  of  the 
Bureau. 

Monthlv  accounts  are  rendered  by  the  disbursing  clerk  to 
the  Treasury  Department  for  all  expenditures  of  this  nature 
under  each  appropriation  against  which  charges  have  been 
made. 

All  applications  for  passports  made  in  this  country, 
whether  bv  mail  or  in  person,  are  examined,  necessary 
correspondence  upon  the  subject  prepared,  and  the  passports 
issued  in  the  passport  division  of  this  Bureau.  Under  the 
law  passports  are  granted  only  to  citizens  of  the  United 
States;  therefore  the  citizenship  of  all  applicants  is  neces- 
sarilv  passed  on  in  the  examination  of  the  applications. 
The  passports  are  numbered  consecutively,  and  the  applica- 
tion bears  the  number  of  the  passport.  A  new  series  of 
numbers  is  started  with  each  Administration.  People  who 
contemplate  procuring  passports  are  furnished,  upon  request, 
with  the  rules  governing  applications,  and  with  blank  forms 
of  application.  The  law  requires  that  a  fee  of  $1  be  charged 
for  each  passport  issued,  and  that  the  moneys  received  be 
deposited  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

Duplicates  of  all  applications  upon  which  passports  have 
been  granted  by  our  diplomatic  and  consular  officers  abroad 
are  examined  and  filed  here,  and  a  report  is  made  whenever 
a  passport  appears  to  have  been  improperly  granted.  A 
record  of  all  passports  issued  at  home  or  abroad  is  kept, 
and  extends  back  for  a  hundred  years. 

The  telegraphic  work  of  the  Department  is  performed  by 
the  clerks  of  this  Bureau.  The  bulk  of  the  messages,  in 
quantity,  though  not  in  number,  is  in  cipher. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     59 

The  seal   of  the   Department   is   in   the  custody  of  this 

Bureau,  and  a  record   is  kept  of  all  authentications  of  Fed- 
eral and  State  seals  to  which  it  is  affixed. 

The  chief  of  this  Bureau  is  charged  with  the  care  of  the 
property  of  the  Department. 


BUREAU  OF  ROLLS  AND  LIBRARY. 

ANDREW  II.   ALLEN,   Chief  of  Bureau. 

Andrew  HUSSEY  ALLEN,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Rolls 
and  Library,  was  born  in  New  York,  X.  Y.,  December  6,  1855; 
was  educated  at  private  schools,  at  Phillips  Academy, 
Andover,  Mass.,  and  graduated  with  degree  of  A.  B.  at 
Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  June,  1878;  studied 
law  for  one  year  at  the  Law  School  of  Columbia  College-, 
New  York,  and  in  the  offices  of  Arnoux,  Rich,  and  Woodford; 
admitted  to  practice  by  the  supreme  court  of  North  Caro- 
lina, but  never  practiced;  appointed  clerk  in  the  State  De- 
partment at  $900  September  15,  1880;  class  1  May  1,  1881; 
appointed  disbursing  agent  of  the  Court  of  Commissioners 
of  Alabama  Claims  July  20,  1882,  and  served  till  the  dis- 
solution of  the  court,  December  31,  1885;  confidential  clerk 
to  the  Second  Assistant  Secretary  of  State  Ma  ch  13,  1890, 
at  Si, 200;  appointed  representative  of  the  Department  of 
State  on  the  United  States  Board  on  Geographic  Names 
July  11,  1890;  confidential  clerk  to  the  Second  Assistant 
Secretary  of  State  December  8,  [890,  at  Si, 400;  appointed 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Rolls  and  Library  June  12,  1S92. 


The  Bureau  of  Rolls  and  Library,  as  its  name  indicates, 
comprises  two  divisions — the  rolls  and  the  library. 

The  rolls  division  is  charged  with  the  promulgation  and 
custod)  of  the  laws  and  treaties  of  the  United  States,  and 
60 


ANDREW    H.    ALLEN. 


Histot  v  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Slate.     61 

the  proclamations,  Executive  orders,  and  Executive  an- 
nouncements of  the  Presidents,  as  well  as  with  the  care  of 
the  files  and  records  of  international  claims  commissions, 
the  Revolutionary  archives  and  other  manuscript  papers,  and 
with  the  correspondence  relating  to  these  several  collections. 

The  first  and  most  important  duty  of  this  division  is  the 
promulgation  (publication)  of  the  laws,  treaties,  proclama- 
tions, and  Executive  orders,  work  which  must  be  performed 
with  the  utmost  attainable  promptness,  speed,  and  accuracy. 

There  are  three  methods  under  the  Constitution  b\-  which 
Legislation  of  Congress  may  be  enacted: 

First.  By  the  passage  of  a  bill  embodying-  the  provisions 
of  the  projected  law  by  both  Houses  of  Congress,  and  its 
approval  by  the  President.     This  is  the  usual  course. 

Secondly.  By  the  passage  of  such  a  measure  by  both 
Houses  of  Congress  and  by  the  failure  of  the  President  to 
return  it  unsigned,  while  Congress  is  in  session,  to  the  House 
in  which  it  originated,  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted) 
after  it  shall  have  been  presented  for  his  approval.  Should 
he  fail  to  return  it  within  the  constitutional  period  of  ten 
days,  Congress  being  continuously  in  session,  and  fail  to 
approve  it,  the  bill  becomes  a  law  by  what  is  known  as  con- 
stitutional limitation.  There  are  certain  apparently  tech- 
nical exceptions  to  this  rule,  which  will  be  noticed  later 
when  the  subject  of  so-called  "  pocketed  laws"  is  reached. 

Thirdly.  A  bill  may  become  law  by  its  passage  by  both 
Houses  of  Congress  over  the  President's  veto. 

When  enacted  by  the  first  method,  the  law  is  sent 
promptly,  after  the  President  has  signed  it,  over  to  the 
Department  of  State,  where  it  is  received  and  stamped  with 
a  date  stamp  by  the  Chief  Clerk,  who,  in  turn,  sends  it  with- 
out delay  to  the  Bureau  of  Rolls. 

When  perfected  by  the  second  method,  the  law,  at  the 
moment  of   its  completion,  being  in  the  hands  of  the  Presi- 


62      I li story  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

dent,  is  sent  to  the  Department  of  State  with  a  letter  from 
one  of  the  President's  secretaries  reciting  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  bill  has  become  law.  vSncli  laws  are  gen- 
erally sent  to  the  Department  the  day  after  the  expiration 
of  the  constitutional  ten  days,  and  are  treated  upon  receipt 
with  the  same  promptness  as  that  described  in  the  ease  of 
laws  under  the  first  method. 

But  when  the  President  vetoes  a  bill  and  the  two  Houses 
of  Congress  pass  it  by  a  two-thirds  vote  over  the  veto,  the 
perfected  law  is  sent  to  the  Department  of  State  by  the 
presiding  officer  of  the  House  of  Congress  in  which  it  is 
last  passed  over  the  veto,  bearing  the  certificates  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Senate  and  the  Clerk  of  the  House,  recit- 
ing the  facts  of  the  veto  and  the  passage  of  the  act  there- 
over in  the  respective  Houses. 

Until  1894  the  laws  were  engrossed  for  signature  in 
manuscript  upon  parchment;  but  on  November  1,  1893, 
Congress  provided  by  a  joint  resolution  that  they  should  be 
printed  upon  parchment  for  the  signatures  of  the  presiding 
officers  of  the-  two  Houses,  the  approval  of  the  President, 
and  for  permanent  preservation — a  change  of  form  which 
has  greatly  simplified  their  promulgation.  A  subsequent 
concurrent  resolution  of  Congress  excepted  the  last  six  days 
of  a  session  from  the  operation  of  this  law  whenever  the 
necessity  might  arise. 

When  the  perfected  law  is  received  by  the  Bureau  of 
Rolls  it  is  immediately  taken  up,  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
other  business  and  without  regard  to  office  hours,  Sundays, 
or  holidays,  and  is  designated,  according  to  the  nature  of  its 
provisions,  as  a  public  or  private  act,  or  a  public  or  private 
resolution,  and  a  serial  number  is  assigned  to  it,  the  series 
of  numbers  running  through  a  session  of  Congress.  It  is 
then  entered  by  its  title-  in  a  register,  together  with  its  serial 
number,  the  date  of  its  approval,  and  the  number  of  the  bill, 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Slut, .     6 


o 


Senate  or  House,  upon  which  it  was  framed.  A  facsimile 
cop}'  of  the  law — three  copies  of  which,  "  pulled  "  from  the 
type  as  set  from  the  original  act,  have  been  previously  sent 
to  the  Bureau — is  immediately  dispatched  to  the  Public 
Printer,  with  a  requisition  to  print  it  in  slip  (fly-leaf  or 
pamphlet)  form,  under  sections  210,  3803,  and  3805  of  the 
Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  and  section  56  of  the 
public-printing  act  of  January  12,  1895,  and  to  furnish  the 
Department  with  as  many  copies  as  are  required  up  to  the 
statutory  limit  of  500.  This  requisition,  signed  by  the  Chief 
of  the  Bureau  and  countersigned  by  the  Chief  Clerk  of  the 
Department,  is  numbered  and  entered  in  a  register  called 
Register  of  Copy  and  Proof  of  the  Laws.  The  Printer  pro- 
ceeds, tinder  the  sections  of  law  cited,  to  set  type  for  the  act 
or  resolution  with  all  possible  speed,  and  to  send  proof  to 
the  Bureau,  where  it  is  immediately  read  with  the  original, 
with  the  utmost  rapidity  consistent  with  unconditional 
accuracy.  If  any  errors  are  found  the}-  are  corrected  and 
the  proof  is  returned  to  the  Printer,  who  sends  a  revise — 
this  course  being  pursued  and  a  record  kept  until  a  clean 
proof  is  reached,  when  the  order  to  print  is  given. 

The  Bureau,  as  the  slip  laws  are  received,  makes  a  subject 
index  of  them  for  official  use,  in  addition  to  the  registers 
already  mentioned. 

The  prints  of  the  "slip  laws"  being  received,  copies  of 
all,  as  they  come  in,  certified  under  the  sign  manual  of  the 
Chief  of  the  Bureau,  are  sent  to  the  Treasury  Department, 
the  Chief  of  Engineers  of  the  Army,  and  the  Interior  Depart- 
ment; and  uncertified  copies  are  held  ready  for  distribution 
to  officers  of  the  ( rovernment  and  others  entitled  to  or  requir- 
ing them  for  immediate  use.  Copies  of  laws  required  for 
use  in  court  are  usually  certified  under  the  signature  of  the 
Secretary  of  State  and  the  seal  of  the  Department. 

(  )ther  sources  of  supply  for  copies  of  the  slip  laws  as  pub- 


64      History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

lished  by  the  Department  are  the  document  rooms  of  the 
two  Houses  of  Congress,  where  quotas  are  held  subject  to 
the  disposal  of  Senators,  Representatives,  and  Delegates  in 
Congress.  Copies  of  the  slip  laws  are  also  sent  by  the  Pub- 
lic Printer  to  the  Treasury  Department  for  official  use. 

Bills  that  become  laws  by  the  President's  approval  are 
published  in  the  following  form: 

[  public— No.  54.] 

AX  ACT  To  aniL'iicl  section  forty-eight  hundred  and  twenty-nine  of  the  United  States 
Revised  Statutes  concerning  surgeons,  assistant  surgeons,  and  other  medical  officers 
of  the  National  Home  for  Disabled  Volunteer  Soldiers. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  section  forty-eight  hun- 
dred and  twenty-nine  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States  be 
amended  by  the  addition  of  the  following  words:  "Provided,  That  sur- 
geons, assistant  surgeons,  and  other  medical  officers  of  the  National  Home 
for  Disabled  Volunteer  Soldiers,  and  the  several  Branches  thereof,  may  be 
appointed  from  others  than  those  who  have  been  disabled  in  the  military 
service  of  the  United  States." 

Approved,  February  9,  1S97. 

Those  that  become  laws  by  lk  Constitutional  limitation  " 
are  printed  with  a  note  by  the  Bureau,  thus: 

[Public— No.  179. 1 

AX  ACT  Amending  the  act  of  June  eighth,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty,  entitled 
"An  act  to  authorize  the  President  to  appoint  an  officer  of  the  Navy  or  the  Marine 

Cor] is  to  perform  the  duties  of  solicitor  and  judge-advocate-general,  and  SO  forth, and 
to  fix  the  rank  and  pay  of  such  officer."  and  for  other  purposes. 

Be  it  enacted  by  tl>e  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  act  "to  authorize  the 
President  to  appoint  an  officer  of  the  Navy  or  the  .Marine  Corps  to  perform 
the  duties  of  solicitor  and  judge-advocate-general,  and  so  forth,  and  t<>  fix 
tin- rank  and  pay  of  such  officer,"  approved  June  eighth,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  eighty,  is  hereby  amended  by  inserting  in  said  an  in  lieu  of  the 
words  "  with  tin-  rank,  pay,  and  allowances  of  a  captain  in  the  Navy,  1  >r  a 
colonel  in  the  Marine  Corps,  as  the  rase  may  Ik-."  tin-  words  "with  the 
rank  and  highest  pay  of  a  captain  in  the  Navy,  or  the  rank,  pay,  and  allow- 
ances of  a  colonel    in  tin-    Marine  Corps,  as  the  ease  maybe:"    Provided, 


History  and  /-'inn/ions  of  the  Department  of  State.      65 

That   this  amendment  shall   take  effect  from  July  nineteenth,  eighteen 
hundred  and  ninety-two,  the  date  on  which  the  present  incumbent  entered 
.Mi  duty,  and  that  the  amount    herein  appropriated   shall    be   payable  from 
the  appropriation  "Pay  of  the  Navy." 
Received  by  the  President,  May  25,  1S96. 

[Note  by  the  Department  of  State. — The  foregoing  act  having 

been  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  his  approval,  and 
not  having  been  returned  by  him  to  the  house  of  Congress  in  which  it 
originated  within  the  time  prescribed  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  has  become  a  law  without  his  approval.] 

Bills  becoming  laws  by  passage  over  the  President's  veto 
are  promulgated  in  this  form,  with  certificates: 

[  Public— No.  52.] 

AN  ACT  To  constitute  a  new  division  of  the  eastern  judicial  district  of  Texas,  and  to 
provide  for  the  holding  of  terms  of  court  at  Beaumont,  Texas,  and  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  clerk  for  said  court. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  f  louse  of  Representatives  of  the  I  'nited 
Stales  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  counties  of  Jefferson, 
Orange,  Newton,  Jasper,  Hardin,  Liberty,  Tyler,  San  Augustine,  Sabine, 
Polk,  and  San  Jacinto  shall  constitute  a  division  of  the  eastern  judicial 
district  of  Texas. 

SEC.  2.  That  terms  of  the  circuit  and  district  courts  of  the  United  States 
for  the  said  eastern  district  of  the  State  of  Texas  shall  be  held  twice  in 
each  year  at  the  city  of  Beaumont,  on  the  first  Mondays  in  June  and 
December. 

Sec.  3.  That  all  civil  process  issued  against  persons  resident  in  the  said 
counties  of  Jefferson,  Orange,  Newton,  Jasper,  Hardin,  Liberty,  Tyler,  San 
Augustine,  Sabine,  Polk,  and  San  Jacinto,  and  cognizable  before  the  United 
St. ites  courts,  shall  be  made  returnable  to  the  courts,  respectively,  to  be 
held  at  the  city  of  Beaumont;  and  all  prosecutions  for  offenses  committed 
in  either  of  said  counties  shall  be  tried  in  the  appropriate  United  States 
court  at  the  city  of  Beaumont:  Provided,  That  no  process  issued  or  pros- 
ecution commenced  or  suit  instituted  before  the  passage  of  this  act  shall 
be  in  any  way  affected  by  the  provisions  hereof. 

SEC.  4.  That  the  clerks  of  the  circui'  and  district  courts  for  said  district 
shall  maintain  an  office  in  charge  of  themselves  or  a  deputy  at  said  city  of 
Beaumont,  which  shall  In-  kept  open  at  all  times  for  the  transaction  of  the 
business  of  said  division. 

SEC.  5.  That  SO  much  of  all  acts  or  parts  of  acts  as  are  in  conflict  here- 
with are  hereby  repealed. 


66     Histoi  v  nud  Functions  <>/'  the  Department  of  State. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives, 

/unitary  22,  /Sij~. 

The  President  <>f  the  United  States  having  returned  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  which  it  originated  the  bill  (  H.  R.  9469  i  "An  act  to 
constitute  a  new  division  of  the  eastern  judicial  district  of  Texas,  and 
to  provide  for  the  holding  of  terms  of  court  at  Beaumont,  Texas,  and  for 
the  appointment  of  a  clerk  for  said  court,"  with  his  objections  thereto, 
the  House  proceeded  in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution  to  reconsider  the 
same  ;  and 

Resolved,  That  the  said  bill  pass,  two-thirds  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives agreeing  to  pass  the  same. 

Attest:  A.  McDoWEU,,  Clerk, 

In  thk  Senate  of  the  United  States, 

February  S,  r8pj. 

The  Senate  having  proceeded,  in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution,  to 
reconsider  the  bill  entitled  "An  act  to  constitute  a  new  division  of  the 
eastern  judicial  district  of  Texas,  and  to  provide  for  the  holding  of  terms 
of  court  at  Beaumont,  Texas,  and  for  the  appointment  of  a  clerk  for  said 
court,"  returned  to  the  House  of  Representatives  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  with  his  objections,  and  sent  by  the  House  of  Represents 
tives  to  the  Senate,  with  the  message  of  the  President  returning  the  hill  : 

Resolved,  That  the  bill  do  pass,  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  agreeing  to 
pass  tin-  same. 

Attest:  Wm.  R.  C<>\,  Secretary. 

The  business  of  receiving,  caring  for,  and  promulgating 

the-  laws  has  been  reduced  to  a  system  every  detail  of  which 
is  of  importance  to  the  avoidance  of  confusion  and  error; 
and  whether  the  proof  be  read  at  comparative  ease  during 
office  hours  without  interruption,  or  under  stress  through 
hours  that  are  long,  continuous,  and  late,  errors  in  the  slip 
laws,  however  trivial,  have  become  all  but  unknown.  An 
error  in  a  law  is  any  deviation,  however  slight,  from  the 
original  act — which  must  be  reproduced  in  published  form 
exactly  as  enacted. 

The  lawmaking  power  alone  can  correct  errors,  even  the 
most  trifling,  jn  the  original  law — and  then  only  by  the 
enactment  of   another  law  for  the  purpose. 

An  editor  of  the  Statutes,  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of 


History  and  Functions  oj  the  Department  of  State.     67 

State,  compiles  the  laws  enacted  at  each  session  of  Congress 
for  publication,  with  an  index,  in  pamplet  form,  and  at  the 
end  of  each  Congress  the  same  officer  compiles  the  laws  of 
the  several  sessions  for  publication  with  an  index  in  the 
regular  volume  of  the  Statutes  at  Large.  The  Bureau  of 
Rolls  again  reads  the  text  of  the  laws  for  these  publications 
in  order  to  be  able  to  guarantee  absolute  accuracy. 

A  pocketed  law,  so  called,  is  really  not  a  law  at  all,  but  a 
bill  which  has  failed  to  become  a  law  because  presented  to 
the  President  for  approval  within  less  than  the  constitu- 
tional ten  days  (during  which  he  might  return  it  not 
approved)  before  adjournment  of  Congress.  His  failure  to 
return  it  to  the  House  in  which  it  originated  within  the  pe- 
riod allowed  him  by  the  Constitution  is  thus  regarded  as  due 
to  the  fact  that  Congress  adjourned  before  the  period  expired. 
His  failure  to  sign  it  under  such  circumstances  is  regarded 
as  equivalent  to  a  veto,  which  is  cailed  a  "pocket  veto,"  so 
the  law  fails,  and  the  President  notes  the  conditions  upon 
it  under  his  signature.  For  the  purposes  of  Executive 
action  respecting  the  laws  the  adjournment  of  Congress  for 
the  so-called  recess  during  the  Christinas  holidays  may  be 
treated  as  an  adjournment  or  as  merely  a  recess.  When 
treated  as  an  adjournment,  laws  not  signed  by  the  President 
prior  to  the  date  of  such  adjournment,  when  presented  to 
him  within  ten  days  theretofore,  fail  by  pocket  veto.  The 
adjournment  for  the  holidays  is  treated  as  a  recess  by  the 
President  when  he  approves  a  bill  or  resolution  during  the 
recess. 

All  the  original  laws  are  bound,  at  the  end  of  each  session 
of  Congress,  in  volumes  of  uniform  or  nearly  uniform  size 
for  permanent  preservation. 

Treaties  with  other  powers  are  promulgated  in  a  slip  form 
similar  to  that  of  the  laws,  as  well  as  published  in  the  Stat- 
utes at  Large — the  President  proclaiming  them  as  the  final 


68      History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

act  prior  to  publication.     The  process  of  promulgation  is  in 

all  respects  like  that  of  the  publication  of  the  laws.  Both 
the  original  and  the  exchange  copy  of  every  perfected  treaty 
is  preserved  in  the  bureau  of  rolls,  as  are  also  all  proclama- 
tions, Executive  orders,  and  Executive  announcements  that 
come  to  the  Department  of  State,  after  their  promulgation 
as  described  in  the  case  of  the  laws.  All  such  instruments 
have  the  rig-lit  of  way  immediately  upon  their  arrival  in  the 
office. 

Proclamations,  Executive  orders,  and  Executive  announce- 
ments are  accurately  and  promptly  printed  on  foolscap  paper, 
for  limited  distribution  on  demand,  immediately  upon  receipt 
bv  the  bureau  of  rolls,  but  only  the  proclamations  are 
reprinted  in  the  volumes  of  Session  Laws  and  Statutes  at 
Large. 

The  Revolutionary  archives  and  other  so-called  historical 
manuscript  collections  in  the  bureau  of  rolls  and  Library 
are: ' 

Volumes. 
The  records  and  papers  of  the  Continental  Congress  (old  binding, 

folio ) 3°7 

The  Washington  papers  ( old  binding,  folio) 2336 

The  Madison  papers  (  new  binding,  quarto) 75 

The  Jefferson  papers  (old  binding,  quarto) 137 

The  Hamilton  papers  (old  binding,  folio) 65 

The  Monroe  papers  (new  binding,  quarto) 22 

The  Franklin  papers  (new  binding,  quarto) 32 

Papers  of  the  Quartermaster-General's  Department  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary period  and  later  (old  binding,  and  loose  papers).5 

■  This  enumeration  does  not  include  papers  received  in  the  course  of  the  business  of 
the  Department,  properly  a  part  of  its  official  files.  The  records  of  the  war  of  1812  in 
this  bureau,  consisting  of  papers  received  in  the  course  of  business,  through  the  exer- 
.  isi    oi    particular  functions,  and   limited   in  volume,  form  a  part  of  the  official   files  of 

the  Department. 

a  Thirty-seven  of  these  volumes.  "Army  returns."  restored  and  rebound  were   trans 

ferred  to  the  War  Department  under  the  act  <>f  August  is.  1894, on  the  24th  of  Novembei 
1S94. 

!  Received  from  the  War  Department   March  and  April,  1888.     Returned  November 
1    1     ,j    with  the  "Army  returns." 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     69 

The  papers  enumerated  were  thus  acquired: 

The  records  ami  papers  <>f  the  Continental  Congress,  deposited  with  the 
Secretary  of  State  under  the  arts  of  Congress  of  July  27,  1789,  and  Sep- 
tember 15.  1789,  entitled,  respectively 

An  art  for  establishing  an  Executive  Department  to  be  denominated 

tile  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  safe-keeping  of  the  acts,  records,  and  seal  of 
the  United  States,  and  for  other  purposes. 

The  Washington  papers,  bought,  in  two  parts,  under  the 
acts  of  June  30,  1834,  and  March  3,  1849  (thirty-seven  vol- 
umes from  this  collection  were  lately  transferred  to  the  War 
Department.      Cf.  note  supra),  entitled,  respectively — 

An  aet  to  enahle  the  Secretary  of  State  to  purchase  the  papers  and 
Imnks  of  General  Washington. 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  thirtieth  of  June,  eighteen  hundred 
and  fifty,  and  for  other  purposes. 

The  Madison  papers,  bought  under  the  act  of  May  31, 
1N4.S,  entitled — 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplomatic  expenses  of 
Government  for  the  year  ending  the  thirtieth  day  of  June,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty-nine,  and  for  other  purposes. 

The  Hamilton  papers,  bought  under  the  act  of  August  12, 
1848;  the  Monroe  papers,  bought  under  the  act  of  March  3, 
1849,  and  the  Franklin  papers,  bought  under  the  act  of 
August  7,  1882,  entitled- — 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  eighteen  hundred  and 
eighty-three,  and  for  other  purposes. 

To  enahle  the  Secretary  of  State  to  purchase  the  manuscript 
papers  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  the  collection  of  books,  and  so  forth, 
known  as  the  Franklin  collection,  belonging  to  Henry  Stevens,  of  London, 
thirty-five  thousand  dollars;  the  printed  hooks,  pamphlets,  and  newspapers, 
and  one  of  the  typewriter  copies  of  the  manuscripts  to  he  deposited  in  the 
Lihrary  of  Congress,  and  the  residue  to  be  preserved  in  the  Department  of 
State. 

Approved,  August  7,  [882. 


~o     ///story  and  Functions  of  the  Department  (/State. 

The  papers  of  the  Quartermaster-General's  Department  of 

the  Revolutionary  period  and  later  were  transferred  to  this 
Department  from  the  War  Department  in  March  and  April, 
[888.  According  to  the  list  accompanying  them,  they  com- 
prise 68  "orderly  books,"  78  "miscellaneous  books,"  etc., 
24  books  relating  to  military  accounts  in  the  Quartermaster's 
Department,  14  "small  memorandum  books,"  73  file  boxes 
containing  papers  not  numbered.  Besides  the  papers  enu- 
merated in  the  list  there  was  a  large  bundle  of  papers  of  a 
miscellaneous  character,  unindexed  and  unnumbered.  Under 
the  act  of  August  18,  1804,  the  papers  from  the  Quartermas- 
ter^ leneral's  Office  were  returned  to  the  War  Department. 

The  Bureau  being  charged  with  the  care  of  these  archives 
performs  that  duty  by  restoring,  mounting  and  binding 
them,  and  by  the  publication  of  a  bulletin. 

The  restoration  involves  a  strengthening  of  each  paper 
requiring  it,  and  the  piecing  out  of  ragged  edges,  by  a  trained 
1  >r<  icess. 

The  mountings  comprise  the  attachment  of  each  paper 
to  a  linen  hinge,  which  is  in  turn  affixed  to  a  sheet  of  heavy 
"  ledger  paper,"  also  provided  with  a  linen  hinge. 

The  binding  is  in  volumes  of  half  leather  and  cloth,  of  a 
weight  not  too  great  to  bear  handling,  and  of  the  size  and 
shape  of  a  large  quarto. 

(  Ither  work  in  the  line  of  preservation  is  comprehended 
in  calendars  and  indexes  of  the  several  collections. 

The  bulletin   mentioned  (called  "Bulletin  of  the  Bureau 
of  Rolls  and    Library  of   the   Department  of    State'1)   was 
inaugurated  in  September,  1803,  for  the  purpose  of  publish- 
ing this   index  work,  together   with   certain   special   papers 
Eight  numbers  have  already  appeared. 

No.  1,  September  1,  1893,  contains  a  list  of  the  volumes 
comprising  the  Papers  of  the  Continental  Congress,  the 
beginning  of  a  miscellaneous  index  of  those  papers,  and  an 


History  and  Functions  of  (lie  Department  of  State.     71 

appendix  commencing  the  publication  of  the  documentary 
history  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  with  the 
proceedings  of  the  Annapolis  Convention. 

No.  2,  November,  [893,  contains  a  new  edition  of  the 
Calendar  of  the  Correspondence  of  James  .Monroe,  with 
corrections  and  additions. 

No.  3,  January,  1894,  contains  a  list  of  the  volumes  of  the 
Washington  papers,  a  continuation  of  the  Index  of  the 
Papers  of  the  Congress,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  Federal 
Convention. 

Xo.  4,  March,  1894,  contains  a  Calendar  of  the  Corres- 
pondence of  James  Madison. 

No.  5,  May,  1894,  contains  lists  of  the  volumes  of  the 
Madison,  Jefferson,  Hamilton,  Monroe,  and  Franklin  collec- 
tions; a  continuation  of  the  Index  of  the  Papers  of  the 
Congress,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  as  framed 
by  the  Federal  Convention,  the  proceedings  of  the  Congress 
thereupon,  and  the  ratifications  thereof  by  the  several  States. 

Xo.  6,  July,  1894,  contains  Part  I  of  a  Calendar  of  the 
Correspondence  of  Thomas  Jefferson;  letters  from  Jefferson. 

Xo.  7  contains  a  list  of  the  Territorial  and  State  Records 
in  the  Bureau,  the  continuation  of  the  Index  of  the  Papers 
of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  the  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

Xo.  8  contains  Part  II  of  the  Calendar  of  the  Correspond- 
ence of  Thomas  Jefferson,  being  letters  to  Jefferson. 

No.  9  continues  the  Index  of  the  Papers  of  the  Congress, 
and  contains  a  literal  print  of  Madison's  X'otes  of  the  Debates 
in  the  Federal  Convention. 

The  archives  of  international  commissions  in  the  custody 
of  the  Bureau  of  Rolls  and  Library  comprise  the  records  and 
papers  of  all  arbitrations  and  commissions  of  the  United 
States  and  other  powers  for  the  adjudication  {final  settle- 
ment) of  questions  of  boundaries  and  of  public  and  private 
.)( 189 — 01 7 


7 2     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

claims,  and  they  arc,  as  may  readily  be  surmised,  of  very 
great  volume,  and  subject  to  frequent  examination  for 
various  purposes,  both  by  the  Government  and  by  interested 
individuals. 

The  library,  founded  by  Thomas  Jefferson  in  1789,  con- 
sists of  about  65,000  volumes  and  2,500  pamphlets.  Its 
principal  and  most  valuable  collections  are  works  on  inter- 
national law,  diplomacy,  and  the  laws  of  foreign  nations. 
It  is  rich  also  in  history,  biography,  and  travels;  but,  with 
the  limited  sum  allowed  for  the  purchase  of  books,  it  is  not 
able  to  keep  abreast  of  the  publishers  on  all  these  lines.  Its 
annual  accessions  amount  to  about  1,000  books  and  pam- 
phlets, exclusive  of  those  acquired  by  gift,  which  are  not 
very  main-.  Books  and  maps  are  bought  for  the  library 
under  an  order  of  the  Secretary  of  State  by  the  chief  of  the 
Bureau,  who  must  be  fully  advised  of  publications  generally, 
and  accounts  are  kept  in  the  library  as  well  as  in  the  Bureau 
of  Accounts.  Periodicals,  of  which  the  library  has  only  a 
fair  list,  are  secured  under  the  same  conditions.  The  use  of 
the  library  is  restricted,  first,  to  the  official  business  of  the 
Department,  then  to  the  Department  service  personally,  to 
the  members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  in  Washington,  and 
to  others  specially  admitted. 

The  library,  as  a  public  depository,  receives  one  copy  of 
each  bound  volume  of  Congressional  documents,  and  pos- 
sesses a  collection  of  these  volumes  from  the  earlier  Con- 
gresses of  considerable  value  and  extent.  It  also  receives  bv 
special  resolution  of  Congress  nineteen  copies  of  every  sep- 
arate .Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  document  and 
report,  and  ten  copies  of  every  bill  and  resolution  introduced 
in  Congress.  These  documents,  etc.,  are  solely  for  the 
official  use  of  the  Department  and  not  for  distribution  in  any 
sense.  Thev  are  carefully  assorted,  entered,  and  filed  for 
reference  and  future  use;  bills  and  resolutions  of  Congress 


History  and  Functions  of  I  he  Department  of  Stale.     73 

only  being  discarded  at  the  end  of  each  Congress.  Such 
documents  as  the  Department  has  for  distribution  occasion- 
ally, except  Consular  Reports  and  Commercial  Relations, 
are  cared  for  and  distributed  by  this  Bureau,  and  an  accurate 
account  is  kept. 

The  library  has  no  printed  catalogue,  but  publishes  an 
accession  list  semiannually,  and  is  engaged  upon  a  special 
catalogue  of  its  collections  of  works  relating  to  international 
law  and  diplomacy,  Part  I  of  which,  covering  the  letters  A 
and  I!,  is  in  print  in  a  very  limited  edition,  for  distribution 
to  certain  classes  of  libraries.  There  is  an  extensive  card 
catalogue  of  the  works  of  the  several  collections. 

The  correspondence  of  the  Bureau  is  conducted  principally 
by  circulars  drawn  to  meet  almost  all  routine  work  by  mail 
that  concerns  the  distribution  of  documents,  the  laws  of  Con- 
gress, and  the  Revolutionary  archives. 

(  Hher  work  of  this  division  of  the  Bureau,  in  which  there 
ai\-  engaged  only  six  persons,  is  similar  to  that  of  all  libra- 
ries and  involves  similar  qualifications. 


BURKAU   OF    INDEXES   AND    ARCHIVES. 

PENDLETON  KING,  Chief  of  Bureau. 

PENDLETON  King  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina;  was  edu- 
cated at  Haverford  College,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  Berlin  and 
Paris;  was  appointed  Secretary  of  Legation  at  Constantinople 
in  r886,  and  was  Charge  d'Affaires  at  different  times;  was 
appointed  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Indexes  and  Archives  in 

i894-  

The  chief  objects  of  this  Bureau  are: 

i .  To  make,  for  the  purpose  of  reference,  an  entry,  under 
carefully  selected  catchwords,  of  the  correspondence  to  and 
from  this  Department. 

2.  To  keep  a  written  record  of  all  indexed  communications 
from  the  Department. 

3.  To  bind  and  keep  in  orderly  arrangement  all  dispatches 
and  indexed  letters  to  the  Department — the  main  bod}-  of 
the  archives. 

4.  To  make  a  subject  index  on  cards  of  the  outgoing  and 
incoming  correspondence. 

5.  To  collect  the  correspondence  on  any  subject  of  cur- 
rent examination  (for  the  officers  and  bureaus  of  the  Depart- 
ment). 

6.  The  preparation  of  the  annual  volume  of  "  Foreign 
Relations." 

1.  Indexing. — The  mail  received  at  the  Department  is 
brought  to  this  Bureau  and  divided  into  three  classes — /)//>- 
lomatic  (all  communications  from  the  ambassadors  and 
ministers  of  our  own  and  other  countries),  Consular  (all 
communications  from  our  consuls  and  consuls  of  foreign 
countries)]  Miscellaneous  (letters  from  the  other  departments 
of  this  Government,  from  Congress,  private  individuals,  etc). 

74 


PENDLETON    KING. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     75 

It  is  then  opened,  stamped,  arranged,  and  examined  by 
clerks,  who  enter  in  folio  index  books  (labeled  "To  the 
Department  "),  under  appropriate  catchwords,  a  brief  abstract 
of  the  contents  of  each  communication.  The  entries  in 
the  diplomatic  and  consular  index  hooks  are  arranged  by 
countries,  in  alphabetical  order;  in  the  miscellaneous  index 
books  they  are  entered  in  alphabetical  order.  After  being 
indexed,  the  diplomatic  correspondence  and  the  more  im- 
portant consular  and  miscellaneous  are  sent  to  the  Chief 
Clerk  of  the  Department  for  distribution  to  the  officers  and 
bureaus  that  have  the  matters  in  charge;  the  routine  and 
less  important  communications  are  distributed  by  the  index 
clerks. 

The  answers  to  these  communications  likewise  come  to 
this  Bureau,  and  are  divided  into  three  classes  and  indexed 
in  a  similar  manner  in  hooks  labeled  u  From  the  Department.  ^ 
This  outgoing  mail  is  then  sent  back  to  the  bureaus 
where  it  was  prepared;  a  press  copy  is  there  made  of  everv 
indexed  outgoing  communication  and  sent  to  this  Bureau 
for  the  recording-  clerks.  The  following  specimens  indicate 
the  manner  of  indexing: 

DIPLOMATIC   REGISTER     CORRESPONDENCE   PROM   THE   DEPARTMENT. 


'I'ii  Spain. 

No. 

Date. 

Subject. 

Record. 

Vol. 

Page. 

[885. 

J.  I,   M.  Curry,  en- 

47 

Dec.   2S 

Claim   of  J.  J.    May   v.  Spain  for  seizure 

16 

1 25 

voy      extraordi- 

and sale  of  his  vessel    Morning  Star 

nary  and  minis 

by   customs  authorities   at  Cardenas. 

ter    plenipoten- 

The   condemnation     and     ^ale'were 

tiary. 

made  on  a  technical  violation  of  cus- 
toms regulations.     Instructed  i«i  pre- 
sent tin    cas<    and  urge  the  payment 
of  indemnity,     enclosure  [oth  instant 
from  consul  at  Cardenas. 

48 

1  1 

Barcelona:  Recognition  of  W.  M.  Han 
ford  as  consul  at.  desired. 

y6      History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

DIPLOMATIC  REGISTER— C<  >RRESP<  (NDENCE  Tti  DEPARTMENT. 


From  Spain.  No. 


I    I.    M.  Curry. 


93 


[886. 

Jan.      S 


Jan.    15 


Subject. 


Claim  of  J.  J.  May  v.  Spain  for  seizuie  and 
sale  of  his  vessel  Morning  Star  at  Carde- 
nas. Refers  to  despatch  47  and  previous 
correspondence,  and  states  Spain  offers 
00  in  full  settlement. 

Imprisonment  without  trial  of  Thomas 
Greene,  an  American  sailor,  at  Malaga. 
He  is  charged  with  larceny.  Minister 
foreign  affairs  promises  investigation  of 
the  delay  and  a  fair  trial.  Incloses  letter 
from  consul  at  Malaga  and  note  from  for- 
eign office. 


Re- 
ceived. 


6,27 


CONSULAR   REGISTER— CORRESPONDENCE   FROM  THE  DEPARTMENT. 


Record. 

To  Cardenas. 

No. 

Date. 

Subject. 

Vol. 

Page. 

1885. 

W.  II.  Tracy,  con- 

5» 

Nov.   15 

Claim  of  J.  J.  May  v.  Spain  for  seizure 

217 

201 

sul. 

and  sale  of  his  vessel  Morning  Star 
by   customs   authorities   at   Cardenas 
for  error  in  manifest.      Inclosure  toth 
instant  from  J.  J.  May.  relative  to,  in- 
structs him  to  investigate  and  report 
facts. 

C(  >NMI,AK    REGISTER— C<  IRRESPI  >NDENCE  Ti  >   DEPARTMENT. 


From  Cardenas. 

No. 

Date. 

Subject. 

Re- 
ceived 

[885. 

W.  YV.  Tracy,  con- 

7 • 

Dec.    10 

Claim  of  J.  J.  May  v.  Spain    for  seizure  and 

12,    » 

sul. 

sal<  of  liis  vessel  M<  trning  star  by  customs 
authorities  at  Cardenas.     Reports   result 
of  investigation.     The  ease  one  of  great 
hardship;  the  seizure  and  sale  were  made 
on  a  technical  error. 

73 

Wreck  of   American  ship  Ocean  Pearl    re- 

1,  1  1 

pi  'i  led. 

History  and  Functions  oj  the  Department  of  State.     77 

MISCELLANEOUS  REGISTER— CORRESPONDENCE  FROM   DEPARTMENT 


J.  J.  May 


June  23 


Subject. 


Record 


Vol. 


Claim  p.  Spain  growing  out   of  seizure       150 

and  sale  of  his  vessel  Morning  Star  by 

customs  authorities  at  Cardenas.  Re- 
fers to  his  November  10.  and  subse- 
quent   correspondence.     Spain    offers 

$20,000  in  settlement;  asks  if  thi>  i> 
satisfactory. 


MISC  ELLANEOUS  REGISTER— CORRESPONDENCE  TO  DEPARTMENT. 


From  whom. 


Subject. 


Re- 
ceived. 


May,  1.1 


Mason,  J.  B.,  >v  Co  .  . . 


phans'  court  of. 


Mint  ot  United  States 
at  Philadelphia. 


[885. 

Nov.    1 


Nov.    25 


Maryland   Geological 

Dec. 

Si  iciety 

Marshal  at  Salt    Lake 

Dec. 

City. 

|886 

Memphis,  judge  of  01 

Jan. 

Jan.      9 


Claim  p.  Spain,  growing  out  of  seizure  and 
sale  of  his  vessel  Morning  Star  by  customs 
authorities  at  Cardenas  For  technical  error 
in  manifest.  Incloses  papers  showing  ab- 
sence of  fraudulent  intent,  and  requests 
intervention  of  United  States. 

Rescue  of  crew  of  their  vessel  Minnie  War- 
ren by  British  vessel  Salamander.  Calls 
attention  to  the  heroism  of  the  crew,  and 
recommends  a  suitable  acknowledgment 
by  the  Department. 

Geological  explorations  in  Crete.  Requests 
that  minister  at  Constantinople  aid  them 
in  obtaining  a  firman  from  the  Sultan  of 
Turkey  to  enable  them  to  continue. 

Fate  of  Rufus  Ruddy,  an  Englishman.  Is 
unable  to  obtain  information  relative  to. 

Legacj  left  Hans  Boiler,  a  German,  residing 

at    Hamburg.      Asks    if     Department    will 

undertake  to  forward  same. 
Japanese  coin.     Return  same,  with  result  of 
assay  made  at  instance  of  Japanese  min- 
ister acknowledged  2d  instant. 


1 1,  26 


1 2,  3 


1,8 


2.   Recording. — The  press  copies  (above  referred   to)  are 
divided  into  three  classes — diplomatic,  consular,  and   mis- 


78     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

cellaneous — and  delivered  to  the  recording  clerks,  by  whom 
they  are  carefully  copied  and  compared.  Each  embassy 
and  legation  has  its  special  book;  the  consular  instructions 
are  recorded  in  one  series  in  chronological  order,  and  the 
outgoing  miscellaneous  letters  are  recorded  in  a  series  called 
"Domestic  Letters"  (to  distinguish  them  from  "Miscellane- 
ous Letters,"  by  which  incoming  letters  are  designated). 

3.  Archives. — After  dispatches  and  letters  have  been 
answered  they  are  all  returned  to  this  Bureau  and  filed  in 
three  classes — diplomatic,  consular,  and  miscellaneous — in 
pigeonholes,  each  embassy,  legation,  and  consulate  having 
its  own  pigeonhole.  These  are  arranged  in  alphabetical 
order.  As  the  pigeonholes  become  filled,  the  correspond- 
ence is  arranged  in  volumes  and  substantially  bound,  each 
embassy,  legation,  and  consulate  having  its  own  series. 
Miscellaneous  letters  are  bound  in  a  separate  series  in  chro- 
nological order.  These  bound  volumes  are  then  placed  in 
labeled  cases  in  a  systematic  manner  and  form  the  bulk  of 
the  archives  of  this  Department. 

4.  Subject  index. — In  addition  to  the  folio  index  books, 
it  is  intended  to  have  a  much  more  complete  system  of 
reference  to  all  the  correspondence  of  the  Department  by 
means  of  cards,  so  as  to  form  a  complete  subject  index  to 
the  entire  correspondence,  in  order  that  a  reference  can  be 
readily  made  to  all  the  papers  bearing  on  any  given  subject. 

(The  following  will  give  an  illustration  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  correspondence  of  the  Department  upon  any 
particular  subject  is  collated  by  means  of  the  card  system 
of  subject  indexing.  In  practice  each  card  represents  a 
communication,  and  therefore  each  paragraph  in  the  follow- 
ing illustration  is  intended  to  represent  a  card.) 

May,  J.  J..  Claim  v.  Spain  growing  out  of  seizure  and  sale  of  his  w>srl 
Morning  Star  by  customs  authorities  at  Cardenas  for  technical  trior  in 
manifest.     Encs.  papers  showing  absence  of  fraudulent  intent,  ami  requests 

intervention  of  I".  S.      From  May,  J.  J.,  Nov.   10,   1NS2. 


History  and  Functions  <>/  the  Department  of  Slate.     79 

Consul  at  Cardenas  instructs  him  to  investigate  and  reports  farts.  FSnc. 
roinst.,  from  J.  J.  May.     To  consul,  No.  51,  Nov.  15.  [885. 

Consul  at  Cardenas  reports  result  of  investigation.  The  case  one  oi 
great  hardship.  The  seizure  and  sale-  were  made  on  a  technical  error. 
From  consul  at  Cardenas,  No.  72,  of  Iter,  to,  [885. 

Minister  to  Spain  instructed  to  present  tin-  case  and  urge  payment  of 
indemnity.  The  condemnation  ami  sale  made  on  a  technical  violation  of 
customs  regulations.  Enc.  m  Nov.,  '85,  from  J.  J.  May,  and  ro  Dec,  '85, 
from  consul  at  Cardenas  to  min.  to  Spain,  No.  47,  Dee.  28,   [885. 

Minister  to  Spain  reports  action  taken,  and  that  Spain  offers  $20,000  in 
full  settlement.  Refers  to  Dept.'s  47,  of  Dec.  28,  [885.  From  minister  to 
Spain,  No,  92,  Jan.  S,   1SS6. 

Claimant  informed  that  Spain  offers  $20,000  in  settlement.  Asks  if  this 
is  satisfactory.      Refers  to  his  Nov.  10.      To  J.  J.   May,  June  23,  1SS6. 

Morning  Star,  claim  of  owner  of,  v.  Spain.     See  May,  J.  J. 

Spain,  claims  of  U.  S.  citizens  against.     See  May,  J.  J. 

May,  J.  J.,  claim  of,  v.  Spain,  for  seizure  and  sale  of  his  vessel  Morning 
Star  by  custom  authorities  at  Cardenas.  The  condemnation  and  sale  were 
made  on  a  technical  violation  of  customs  regulations.  Instructed  to  pre- 
sent the  cast-  and  urj^e  the  payment  of  indemnity.  Inc.  to,  Nov.,  '85,  from 
J.  J.  May,  and  10,  of  Dec,  [885,  from  consul  at  Cardenas. 

5.  Furnishing  correspondence  to  the  officers  of  tin-  Depart- 
ment.— This  Bureau,  by  an  examination  of  the  folio  and 
other  index  books,  looks  up  and  collects  for  the  officers  and 
bureaus  of  the  Department  all  the  dispatches,  instructions, 
and  letters  needed  for  the  consideration  of  the  different  sub- 
jects receiving  daily  attention,  and  to  answer  resolutions 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  calling  for 
correspondence. 


BUREAU  OF  FOREIGN  COMMERCE. 

FREDERIC  EMORY.  Chief  of  Bureau. 

Frederic  Emory,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Foreign  Com- 
merce, Department  of  State,  was  born  at  Centerville,  Queen 
Anne  County,  Md.,  September  iS,  1853;  son  of  Blanchard 
and  Mary  Bourke  Emory;  educated  at  St.  John's  College, 
Annapolis,  Md.;  was  employed  in  newspaper  work  until 
March,  1893,  when  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the 
Bureau  of  American  Republics;  in  April,  1894,  was  ap- 
pointed Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  (now  Bureau  of 
Foreign  Commerce)  of  the  Department  of  State;  was  also 
Director  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Republics  from  Febru- 
ary, 1898,  to  May,  1899. 


The  Bureau  of  Foreign  Commerce,  of  the  Department 
of  State,  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  compiling,  editing, 
and  distributing  the  reports  of  the  diplomatic  and  consular 
officers  stationed  in  the  various  countries  of  the  world  upon 
commercial  and  industrial  subjects.  It  also  prepares  the 
drafts  of  instructions  to  such  officers  for  the  collection  of 
information  for  the  benefit  of  the  public.  The  Bureau  was 
formerly  known  as  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  but  because  of 
the  confusion  arising  from  the  fact  that  there  were  bureaus 
in  other  Departments  of  the  same  designation,  the  name  was 
changed  by  order  of  Secretary  Sherman  July  1,  [897. 
Although  the  publications  of  the  Bureau  relate  primarily 
80 


FREDERIC    EMORY. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     81 

to    commerce  and   industries,  they    cover    a    wide  field    of 
miscellaneous  information. 

The  reports  are  received  in  the  usual  way  in  the  Depart- 
ment and  referred  by  the  proper  official  to  the  Bureau  of 
Foreign  Commerce.  They  arc  immediately  examined,  and 
such  of  them  as  are  of  current  interest  are  promptly  printed 
in  the  form  of  a  daily  publication.  This  periodical,  known 
as  Advance  Sheets,  had,  prior  to  January  i,  1898,  been  issued 
irregularly  as  occasion  required.  On  that  date,  in  pursu- 
ance to  an  order  from  Secretary  Sherman,  the  publication 
of  the  reports  every  day,  except  Sundays  and  legal  holidays, 
was  begun,  in  order  that  the  newspaper  press,  organized 
trade  bodies,  and  the  business  community  of  the  United 
States  might  receiye  the  benefit  of  the  reports  with  the 
least  possible  delay.  This  improvement  has  been  widely 
commended  as  of  great  practical  importance,  and  as  placing 
the  United  States  system  of  consular  reporting  ahead  of 
that  of  any  other  country  in  the  world.  In  addition  to  the 
daily  reports,  the  Bureau  jf  Foreign  Commerce  issues  every 
year  two  large  volumes  of  animal  reports  of  consular  officers 
upon  the  trade  and  industrial  activities  of  their  districts. 
These  reports  are  summarized  in  an  introduction  of  several 
hundred  pages,  which  is  also  printed  separately  under  the 
heading,  "  Review  of  the  World's  Commerce." 

The  miscellaneous  reports  printed  daily  are  collected  at 
the  end  of  eyery  month  and  printed  in  the  periodical 
monthly,  Consular  Reports,  which  was  established  in  1880. 
From  time  to  time,  at  the  suggestion  of  individuals  or 
firms  seeking  information  as  to  conditions  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, series  of  special  reports  are  obtained  from  consular 
officers  and  printed  in  separate  form.  The  quarterly  returns 
of  exports  from  consular  districts  to  the  United  States  are 
printed  in  another  publication,  known  as  Declared  Exports 
which    is  issued  at  the  end   of  every   three   months.      There 


82     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

are,  therefore,  five  distinct  classes  of  publications  emana- 
ting from  the  Bureau  of  Foreign  Commerce: 

Daily  Consular  Reports. 

Monthly  Consular  Reports. 

Commercial  Relations,  being  the  annual  reports. 

Special  Consular  Reports. 

Declared  Exports. 

Testimony  as  to  the  practical  value  of  the  consular 
reports  is  a  matter  of  almost  daily  record  in  the  leading 
trade  newspapers  of  the  world.  The  force  of  the  Bureau  of 
Foreign  Commerce  engaged  in  this  work  consists,  all  told, 
of  eleven  persons. 


ROBERT    B.    MOSHER, 


BUREAU    OF   APPOINTMENTS. 

ROBERT  BRENT  MOSHER,  Chief  of  the  Bureau. 

Robert  Brent  Mosher,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Appoint- 
ments, was  born  in  Washington,  I).  C,  December  6,  1856; 
was  educated  at  Rock  Hill  College,  Ellicott  City,  Md.;  was 
engaged  in  various  occupations  until  appointed  a  clerk  of 
class  1  in  the  War  Department,  under  civil-service  rules,  on 
probation,  July  26,  1888;  permanently  appointed  same  class 
January  26,  1889;  appointed  clerk  in  Department  of  State 
at  Si, 000,  on  probation,  under  civil-service  rules,  July  19, 
1890;  permanent,  class  1,  January  19,  1891;  class  3,  Novem- 
ber 4,  1895;  class  4,  January  6,  1896.  Designated  to  act  as 
appointment  clerk  January  23,  1897;  appointed  Chief  of 
Bureau  of  Appointments  July  7,  1898. 


The  duties  of  the  Bureau  of  Appointments,  as  the  name 
implies,  relate  principally  to  appointments,  but  it  is  also 
charged  with  the  preparation  of  exequaturs  and  warrants  of 
extradition. 

Applications  and  recommendations  for  office  when  re- 
ceived are  stamped  and  indorsed  with  the  name  of  the  appli- 
cant, the  office  sought,  and  the  name  of  the  writer.  They 
are  then  indexed  by  card  and  filed  with  the  applicant's  other 
papers.  When  the  President  takes  up  the  question  of  fill- 
ing the  office  it  is  usual  for  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau,  by  di- 
rection of  the  Secretary  or  the  Assistant  Secretary,  to  prepare 
a  digest  of  the  papers  of  each  applicant  for  that  place,  giving 

83 


84     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  <>/  State. 

a  brief  history  of  the  applicant  and  a  list  of  the  persons  who 
recommend  him,  arranged  in  the  order  of  their  importance. 
This  is  a  tedious  process,  and  it  materially  lightens  the  bur- 
dens of  the  President,  the  Secretary,  and  the  Assistant  Sec- 
retary in  filling  the  office.  The  result  of  the  examination 
of  the  brief  is  embodied  in  a  memorandum  of  the  President, 
which  reads:  "Appoint  John  Doe.     W.  McK." 

Candidates  selected  for  Consulates  or  Commercial  Agen- 
cies compensated  by  salary  or  official  fees  to  the  amount  of 
$1,000  or  more  and  not  exceeding  $2,500,  are  before  being 
appointed  required  to  pass  an  examination  under  an  Exec- 
utive order  issued  September  20,  1895,  and  the  report  of 
the  Board  of  Examiners  is  sent  to  the  President  with  the 
nomination.  In  other  cases  the  nomination  is  sent  to  the 
President  for  transmission  to  the  Senate  as  soon  as  a  selec- 
tion has  been  made.  The  Senate  having  confirmed  the 
nomination,  a  formal  certificate  to  that  effect  is  executed  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  and  sent  to  the  Executive  Man- 
sion, whence  it  is  forwarded  to  the  State  Department,  and 
the  commission  is  made  out  and  recorded  as  of  the  date  of 
the  confirmation.  The  appointee  is  then  notified  of  his 
appointment  and  sent  an  oath  of  office  for  execution,  and  if 
he  be  required  to  furnish  bond  the  proper  forms  and  instruc- 
tions are  forwarded  at  the  same  time.  Upon  receipt  of  the 
oath  and  bond  thev  are  examined  in  the  Bureau,  and  if 
found  to  be  proper  and  sufficient  the  bond  is  approved  and 
deposited  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  the  com- 
mission sent  to  the  Consular  Bureau.  It  then  passes  to  the 
Diplomatic  Bnrean  for  transmission  to  our  representative  in 
the  country  in  which  the  consulate  is  located,  with  instruc- 
tions to  ask  for  the  Consul's  official  recognition. 

Vice  and  deputy  consuls  and  consular  agents  are  appointed 
by  the  Secretary  of  State  upon  nomination  by  the  respective 
consuls  under  whom  they  are  to  serve.      There  is  no  salary 


//is/my  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Slate.     85 

provided  for  them  as  such,  consular  agents  being  allowed 
half  the  fees  they  collect  and  vice  and  deputy  consuls 
receiving  such  pay  for  their  services  as  may  be  allowed  by 
the  consul  from  his  compensation. 

The  recognition  of  a  foreign  consular  officer  in  his  official 
capacity  is  called  an  exequatur,  which  is  signed  l>v  the 
President  when  the  commission  of  the  officer  is  signed  by 
the  head  of  the  state,  and  by  the  Secretary  of  State  when 
the  commission  is  issued  by  any  other  authority — such  as  a 
minister  for  foreign  affairs,  a  minister,  consul-general,  or 
consul. 

Warrants  of  extradition  are  of  three  kinds,  viz:  Arrest, 
surrender,  and  authority  for  bringing  a  criminal  to  the 
United  States  from  a  foreign  country.  Warrants  of  arrest 
are  issued  by  the  Secretary  of  State  upon  the  request  of  the 
diplomatic  representative  of  the  country  from  which  the 
criminal  has  fled;  warrants  of  surrender  are  issued  by  the 
Secretary  of  State  after  the  criminal  has  been  arrested  and 
tried  before  a  commissioner  in  extradition;  the  third  class 
of  warrants  consists  of  those  issued  by  the  President,  as 
authority  for  the  person  selected  by  the  State  in  which  the 
crime  was  committed  to  take  the  fugitive  in  his  custody  and 
bring  him  back  to  the  United  States  from  the  country  in 
which  he  has  taken  refuge. 

The  ] (reparation  and  publication  of  the  Annual  Register 
of  the  Department,  and  of  lists  of  the  diplomatic  and  con- 
sular officers,  which  are  issued  periodically  during  the  year, 
is  an  important  feature  of  the  work  of  this  Bureau. 

The  records  of  the  office  consist  of  application  papers, 
copies  of  commissions,  records  of  nominations  and  appoint- 
ments which  date  from  the  beginning  of  the  Government 
under  the  Constitution  of  1789,  oaths  of  office,  records  of 
pardons  issued  up  to  June  16,  1893,  amnesty  oaths,  and 
extradition  papers. 


S6     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  oj  State. 

This  Bureau  is  also  charged  with  the  custody  of  the  Great 
Seal  of  the  United  States,  impressions  of  which  are  affixed 
to  treaties  with  foreign  governments,  Presidential  proclama- 
tions, ceremonial  letters,  commissions,  and  full  exequaturs. 
A  special  warrant  of  the  President  is  required  when  affixed 
to  any  instrument  excepting  a  commission  or  an  exequatur. 


BIOGRAPHIES  OF  THE  SECRETARIES  OF    FOREIGN 

AFFAIRS. 


The  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  was  organized 
August  10,  1 7 S  i ,  and  the  place  of  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs  was  offered  to  Robert  R.  Livingston,  of  New  York. 
He  declined  the  position  until  he  could  familiarize  himself 
with  the  character  and  scope  of  the  powers  of  the  new  office. 
He  seemed  satisfied,  for  he  accepted  the  office  September  23 
following. 

Upon  assuming  the  duties  of  the  office  he  wrote  to  Count 
Vergennes  that,  "  Congress  having  thought  it  expedient  to 
dissolve  a  committee  of  their  own  body,  by  whom  their 
foreign  affairs  had  hitherto  been  conducted,  and  to  submit 
the  general  direction  of  them  (under  their  inspection)  to  a 
Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  I  do  myself  the  honor  to 
inform  Your  Excellency  that  they  have  been  pleased  to 
appoint  me  to  that  Department,  and  to  direct  me  to  corre- 
spond in  that  capacity  with  the  Ministers  of  fore igu  powers." 

He  likewise  communicated  the  fact  of  his  assumption  of 
the  duties  of  the  office  to  Franklin,  John  Adams,  Dana,  and 
Jay,  our  Ministers  abroad. 

Thus  it  will  be  perceived  that  Robert  R.  Livingston  was 
the  first  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs.  He  took  the  oath  of 
office  October  20,  17S1,  and  resigned  in  June,  1783. 

Elias  Boudinot,  of  New  Jersey,  as  President  of  Congress, 
became  officially  Secretary  ad  interim  from  the  resigna- 
tion'of  Mr.  Livingston  in  June,  17H3,  till  the  dissolution 
of  Congress. 

S7 


88     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

Thomas  Mifflin,  of  Pennsylvania,  upon  the  organization 
of  a  new  Congress,  was  elected  to  be  its  President  November 
3,  1783,  and  as  such  acted  as  ad  interim  Secretary  till 
December  21,  1784. 

John  Jay,  of  New  York,  was  chosen  by  Congress  to  be  Sec- 
retary of  Foreign  Affairs  May  7,  1784;  qualified  December 
21,  1  7S4,  and  served  till  March  4,  1789,  under  the  Confed- 
eration. On  the  organization  of  the  Government  under  the 
Constitution,  he  continued  in  charge  of  the  Foreign  Rela- 
tions of  the  Nation  at  the  request  of  President  Washing-ton 
till  March  21,  1790,  having  meanwhile  (September  26,  1789) 
been  appointed  as  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States. 

It  will  be  noted  that  John  Jay,  who  had  been  Secretary 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  continued  in  charge  of  the  Department 
of  State  under  the  Constitution  for  a  period  of  eleven  days 
by  request  of  President  Washington.  This  would  seem  to 
entitle  him  to  be  considered  the  first  Secretary  of  State. 
Yet  he  was  never  regularly  appointed  to  that  position,  and 
therefore  it  can  hardly  be  claimed  that  he  was  in  the  full 
sense  Secretary  of  State.  The  most  that  can  be  claimed, 
probably,  is  that  by  the  direction  of  the  President  he  filled 
an  interregnum  till  Thomas  Jefferson  was  duly  appointed 
Secretary  of  State,  which  occurred  September  26,  1789.  In 
addition  to  the  eleven  days  of  the  interregnum,  Jay  served 
from  the  appointment  of  Jefferson  to  March  22,  1790,  when 
Jefferson  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the 
office. 

Brief  biographies  of  the  distinguished  men  who  filled  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  it  is  thought,  should 
be  given  in  this  connection  as  introductory  to  similar  biog- 
raphies of  the  Secretaries  of  State  from  Jefferson'to  Hay. 


History  and  Functions  <>/  the  Department  oj  State.     89 
BIOGRAPHIES   OK    SECRETARIES   OF    FOREIGN    AFFAIRS. 

Robert  R.  Livingston  was  born  in  New  York  City 
November  27,  1746;  was  graduated  from  Kings  (now 
Columbia)  College  in  1765;  studied  law  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1773;  for  a  short  time  was  associated  in  part- 
nership with  John  Ja\\  who  had  been  his  contemporary  in 
college.  In  177s  he  was  elected  to  the  provincial  assembly 
of  New  York  from  Dutchess  Comity,  and  was  sent  by  this 
body  as  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress,  continuing 
in  this  capacity  till  1777;  was  a  member  of  the  committee 
of  five  appointed  to  draft  a  declaration  of  independence,  but 
was  prevented  from  signing  the  Declaration  when  engrossed 
by  reason  of  unavoidable  absence.  He  was  again  a  dele- 
gate in  1 779-1 7S1,  and  throughout  the  entire  Revolution 
was  most  active  in  behalf  of  the  cause  of  independence. 
In  1788  was  chairman  of  the  New  York  convention  to  con- 
sider the  United  States  Constitution.  As  Chancellor  of  the 
State  of  New  York  he  administered  the  oath  of  office  to 
George  Washington  on  his  inauguration  as  first  President 
of  the  United  States.  He  held  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
Foreign  Affairs  for  the  United  States  1 781-1783.  He  took 
the  oath  of  office  as  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  October 
20,  1 781,  and  resigned  in  June,  1783.  He  declined  the 
portfolio  of  Secretars-  of  the  Navy,  tendered  by  President 
Jefferson.  In  1794  he  declined  the  mission  to  France,  but 
accepted  that  office  in  1801.  As  Minister  to  Prance  he 
began  the  negotiations  tending  toward  a  settlement  of  the 
French  spoliation  claims.  Subsequent  to  his  resignation, 
while  in  Paris,  he  met  Robert  Fulton,  and  together  they 
successfully  developed  a  plan  of  steam  navigation.  After 
his  retirement  from  public  service  Livingston  devoted  con- 
siderable time  and  attention  to  the  subject  of  agriculture. 
He  died  in  Clermont,  N.  Y.,  February  26,  181  3. 


90      History  and  Finn /ions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

Elias  Boudinot  was  born  in  Philadelphia  May  2,  1740; 

after  receiving  a  classical  education,  he  studied  law  and 
practiced  in  New  Jersey;  in  1777  was  appointed  commissary- 
general  of  prisoners;  same  year  was  elected  a  Delegate  to 
Congress  from  New  Jersey,  serving  from  1  77S  till  [779,  and 
again  from  17N1  till  [784;  was  chosen  President  of  Congress 
November  4,  17S2,  and  in  that  capacity  signed  the  Treaty 
of  Peace  with  England;  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  but 
after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  was  elected  to  the 
First,  Second,  and  Third  Congresses,  serving  from  March  4, 
1789,  till  March  3,  1795;  was  appointed  by  Washington  in 
1795  to  succeed  Rittenhouse  as  Director  of  the  Mint  at 
Philadelphia,  and  held  the  office  till  July,  1805,  when  he 
resigned  and  passed  the  rest  of  his  life  at  Burlington,  X.  J., 
devoted  to  the  study  of  Biblical  literature,  and  charitable 
works;  was  a  trustee  of  Princeton  College,  endowed  it  with 
a  cabinet  of  natural  history  valued  at  $3,000;  assisted  in 
founding  the  American  Bible  Society  in  1S16,  and  was  its 
first  president,  and  gave  it  $10,000.  He  was  interested  in 
attempts  to  educate  the  Indians;  also  in  educating  young 
men  for  the  ministry;  bequeathed  his  property  to  his  only 
daughter,  Mrs.  Bradford,  and  to  charitable  uses;  among  his 
bequests  were  one  of  $200  to  buy  spectacles  for  the  aged 
poor;  another  of  13,000  acres  of  land  to  the  mayor  and  cor- 
poration of  Philadelphia  that  the  poor  might  be  supplied 
with  wood  at  low  prices;  and  another  of  3,000  acres  to  the 
Philadelphia  Hospital,  for  the  benefit  of  foreigners.  Died 
in  Burlington,  X.  J.,  October  24,  1S21. 

Thomas  MIFFLIN  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1744;  was 
graduated  from  Philadelphia  College  in  1700;  entered  ;> 
counting  house;  traveled  in  Europe  in  1763,  and  on  his 
return  engaged  in  commercial  business;  in  1772  and  1773 
was  a  representative  in  the  legislature,  and  in  1774  was  one 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  oj  Shite.      9] 

of  the  Delegates  scut  to  the  Continental  Congress.  When 
the  news  came  of  the  fight  at  Lexington  he  eloquently 
advocated  resolute  action  in  the  town  meetings,  and  when 
troops  were  enlisted  he  was  active  in  organizing  and  drill- 
ing one  of  the  first  regiments  and  was  made  its  major.  This 
action  severed  his  connection  with  the  Quaker  society  in 
which  he  was  born  and  reared.  General  Washington  ehose 
him  as  his  first  aid-de-camp,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  soon 
after  the  establishment  of  his  headquarters  at  Cambridge. 
While  there  he  led  a  force  against  a  British  detachment. 
In  July,  1775,  he  was  made  Quartermaster-*  J-eneral  of  the 
Army,  and  after  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  enemy, 
was  commissioned  as  brigadier-general  May  19,  1770;  was 
assigned  to  the  command  of  a  part  of  the  Pennsylvania 
troops  when  the  army  lay  in  camp  before  New  York,  and 
enjoyed  the  particular  confidence  of  the  Commander  in 
Chief;  his  brigade  was  described  as  the  best  disciplined  of 
any  in  the  Army;  in  the  retreat  from  Long  Island  he  com- 
manded the  rear  guard.  In  compliance  with  a  special 
resolve  of  Congress  Mifflin  resumed  the  duties  of  Quarter- 
11  laster-General.  In  November,  1776,  he  was  sent  to  Phila- 
delphia to  represent  to  Congress  the  critical  condition  of 
the  Army,  and  to  excite  the  patriotism  of  the  Pennsylva- 
nians.  After  listening  to  him  Congress  appealed  to  the 
militia  of  Philadelphia  and  the  nearest  counties  to  join  the 
Army  in  New  Jersey,  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  country  for 
reenforcements  and  supplies,  and  ordered  Mifflin  to  remain 
in  Philadelphia  for  consultation  and  advice;  he  organized 
and  trained  the  three  regiments  of  associators  of  the  city  and 
neighborhood,  and  sent  a  body  of  1,500  to  Trenton;  in  Jan- 
uary, 1777,  accompanied  by  a  committee  of  the  legislature, 
he  made  the  tonr  of  the  principal  towns  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
by  his  stirring  oratory  brought  recruits  to  the  ranks  of  the 
Army;   he  came  up  with  reenforcements  before  the  battle  of 


92     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  oj  State. 

Princeton  was  fought.  In  recognition  of  his  services  Con- 
gress commissioned  him  major-general  and  mack-  him  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  War.  The  cares  of  various  offices 
so  impaired  General  Mifflin's  health  that  he  offered  his  res- 
ignation, but  Congress  refused  to  accept  it;  offered  his  resig- 
nation again,  but  Congress  again  refused  to  accept  it,  and 
placed  in  his  hands  Si, 000,000  to  settle  outstanding  claims. 

In  January,  1780,  he  was  appointed  on  a  board  to  devise 
means  for  retrenching  expenses.  After  the  achievement  of 
independence  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  was  chosen  its 
President  November  3,  1783,  and  when  Washington  resigned 
his  commission  as  General  of  the  Army  replied  to  him  in 
eulogistic  terms.  He  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  in 
1785,  and  was  elected  speaker. 

In  1787  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  that  framed 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  was  one  of  its 
signers.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  supreme  execu- 
tive council  of  Pennsylvania  in  1  788,  succeeded  to  its  presi- 
dency, and  filled  that  office  till  1790.  He  presided  over  the 
convention  that  was  called  to  devise  a  new  constitution  for 
Pennsylvania  in  that  year,  was  elected  the  first  governor, 
over  Arthur  St.  Clair,  and  reelected  for  the  two  succeeding 
terms  of  three  years.  He  raised  Pennsylvania's  quota  of 
troops  for  the  suppression  of  the  whisky  insurrection,  and 
served  during  the  campaign  under  the  orders  of  Governor 
Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia.  Not  being  eligible  under  the  con- 
stitution for  a  fourth  term  in  the  governor's  chair,  he  was 
elected  in  1799  to  the  assembly,  and  died  during  the  legis- 
lative session.  Governor  Mifflin  was  a  member  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  from  1 70S  till  his  death, 
which  occurred  January  211,  [800,  in  Lancaster,  Pa. 

J(  >  1 1  x  J.w  was  born  in  New  York  City,  I  )ecember  12,  1745; 
was  of  Huguenot  descent;   was  graduated  from  Kings  (now 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Departnn  nt  of  State.     93 

Columbia)  College,  New  York,  in  1766;  studied  law  with 
Benjamin  Kissam,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1766; 
when  news  of  the  passage  of  the  Boston  port  bill  reached  New 
York,  May  [6  of  that  year,  at  a  meeting  of  citizens,  Jay  was 
appointed  a  member  of  a  committee  of  fifty-one  to  correspond 
with  the  other  colonies;  was  a  member  of  the  second  Provin- 
cial Congress,  which  met  in  Philadelphia,  May  10,  1775;  was 
also  a  member  of  the  secret  committee  appointed  by  the  Con- 
gress, November  29  of  that  year,  "  to  correspond  with  the 
friends  of  America  in  ( Jreat  Britain,  Ireland,  and  other  parts 
of  the  world."  While  lie  was  attending  Congress  in  Phila- 
delphia, Jay's  presence  was  requested  by  the  New  York  con- 
vention, which  required  his  counsel;  this  convention  met  at 
White  Plains,  July  9,  1776,  and  on  Jay's  motion  unani- 
mously approved  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He 
drafted  the  State  constitution  adopted  by  the  convention  of 
Xew  York,  and  was  appointed  chief  justice  of  that  State, 
holding  his  first  term  at  Kingston  in  September,  1777.  Sep- 
tember 27,  1  778,  he  was  appointed  minister  to  Spain,  whence 
he  sailed  in  October;  while  in  Spain  Jay  was  added  by  Con- 
gress to  the  Peace  Commissioners,  and  the  23d  of  June,  1782, 
joined  Franklin  in  Paris;  after  more  than  a  year's  negotia- 
tions, the  definitive  treaty  was  signed,  September  3,  1 783, 
and  Jay  returned  to  New  York  in  July,  1784,  having  been 
elected  by  Congress  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  which  post 
he  held  till  the  formation  of  the  Federal  Government  in  1  789. 
By  an  act  of  Congress  approved  September  15  of  that 
year,  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  became  the  Depart- 
ment of  State,  and  by  request  of  President  Washington  he 
continued  at  the  head  of  the  office  till  Jefferson's  return 
from  Paris,  the  latter  having  been  appointed  Secretary  of 
State  September  26,  1789.  (  hi  the  organization  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government  Washington  asked  Jay  to  accept  whatever 
place    he   might   prefer,   and    he    took    the   office   of    Chief 


94      History  and  functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  In  1794  he  went  as  a  spe- 
cial envoy  to  Great  Britain,  with  which  our  relations  were 
then  strained,  and  the  19th  of  November  concluded  with 
Lord  Grenville  the  convention  known  as  "  Jay's  Treaty," 
the  ratification  of  which,  against  an  unexampled  opposition, 
avoided  a  war  with  Great  Britain;  on  his  return  he  became 
governor  of  New  York,  which  office  he  retained  till  1801. 
He  declined  a  return  to  the  Chief  Justiceship  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  to  which  he  was  reappointed  by  President  Adams, 
and  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  on  his  estate  in  West- 
chester County,  N.  Y.,  where  he  died  May  17,  1829. 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 


BIOGRAPHIES  AND  PORTRAITS  OF  THE  SECRETARIES 

OF  STATE. 


Thomas  Jefferson  was  born  at  Shadwell,  Va.,  in  1743. 
His  education  was  chiefly  acquired  from  private  tutors, 
although  he  passed  two  years  at  the  College  of  William  and 
Mary;  adopted  the  law  as  his  profession;  was  a  member  of 
the  legislature  of  Virginia  from  1769  to  the  commencement 
of  the  American  Revolution;  in  1775  was  a  Delegate  in 
Congress.  On  May  15,  1776,  the  convention  of  Virginia 
instructed  their  Delegates  to  propose  a  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. In  June  Mr.  Lee  accordingly  made  the  motion 
and  it  was  voted  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  prepare 
one.  The  committee  was  elected  by  ballot,  and  consisted 
of  Thomas  Jefferson,  John  Adams,  Benjamin  Franklin, 
Roger  Sherman,  and  Robert  R.  Livingston.  The  Declara- 
tion was  exclusively  the  work  of  Jefferson,  to  whom  the 
right  of  drafting  it  belonged,  as  chairman  of  the  committee, 
although  alterations  and  amendments  were  made  in  it  by 
Adams,  Franklin,  and  other  members  of  the  committee  and 
a  fur  wards  by  Congress.  Jefferson  retired  from  Congress 
September,  1776,  and  look  a  seat  in  the  legislature  of  his 
vState  in  October.  In  1771)  was  chosen  Governor  and  held 
the  office  two  years.  Declined  a  foreign  appointment  in 
1770  and  again  in  17S1.  Accepted  the  appointment  as  one 
of  the  commissioners  for  negotiating  peace,  but  before  he 
sailed  news  was  received  of  the  signing  of  the  provisional 
(.089 — 01 9  95 


96     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

treaty,  and  he  was  excused  from  proceeding  on  the  mission; 
returned  to  Congress.  In  1774  wrote  notes  on  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  money  unit  and  of  a  coinage  for  the  United 
States.  In  May  of  that  year  was  appointed,  with  Adams 
and  Franklin,  a  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  negotiate 
Treaties  of  Commerce  with  Foreign  Nations.  In  1  7S5  was 
Minister  to  the  French  Court.  In  1  789  returned  to  America 
and  received  from  Washington  the  appointment  oj  Secre- 
tary of  State;  7tuis  commissioned  September  26,  //A'y,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties  March  22,  j  jy<>;  retired  December 
ji,  IJ93-  lu  September,  1794,  when  an  appointment  was 
offered  him  by  Washington,  he  replied,  Vk  Xo  circumstance 
will  evermore  tempt  me  to  engage  in  anything  public." 
Notwithstanding  this  determination,  he  suffered  himself  to 
be  a  candidate  for  President  and  was  chosen  Vice-President 
in  1  796.  At  the  election  in  1801,  he  and  Aaron  Burr  having 
an  equal  number  of  electoral  votes  for  President,  the  House 
of  Representatives,  after  a  severe  struggle,  finally  deter- 
mined in  his  favor;  was  reelected  in  1805.  At  the  end  of 
his  second  term  he  retired  from  office.  Died  July  4,  1S26, 
at  1  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  just  fifty  years  from  the  date  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  It  is  a  most  remarkable 
fact  that  on  the  same  day  John  Adams,  a  signer  with  Jeffer- 
son of  the  Declaration,  the  second  on  the  committee  for  draft- 
ing it,  and  Jefferson's  immediate  predecessor  in  the  office  of 
President,  also  died.  Jefferson's  publications  were:  Sum- 
mary Views  of  the  Rights  of  British  America,  1774;  Decla- 
ration of  Independence,  1776;  Notes  on  Virginia,  17S1; 
Manual  of  Parliamentary  Practice,  for  the  use  of  the  Senate; 
Life  of  Captain  Lewis,  1814,  and  some  papers  of  a  philo- 
sophical character.  His  works,  chiefly  letters,  were  first 
published  by  his  grandson,  Thomas  Jefferson  Randolph, 
[829,  and  a  complete  edition,  by  order  of  Congress,  in  nine 
volumes,  in  1 853. 


EDMUND    RANDOLPH. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     <>j 

Edmund  Randolph  was  a  native  of  Virginia;  was  an 
eminent  lawyer,  and  a  warm  supporter  of  the  Revolution; 
was  a  Delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress  from  Virginia 
fnun  i  77c;  to  1  783;  in  1  788  was  a  member  of  the  Convention 
which  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  but 
voted  against  its  adoption;  in  17SS  was  Governor  of  Vir- 
ginia; in  1789  was  Attorney-! k-neral  of  the  United  States; 
was  commissioned  Secretary  of  State  January  2,  /yyj,  but, 
engaging  in  an  intrigue  with  the  French  Minister,  lost  the 
confidence  of  the  Cabinet  and  resigned  August  10,  1 7*^3. 
Died  September  12,  1813. 

Timothy  Pickering  was  born  in  Salem,  Mass.,  July  17, 
[745;  graduated  at  Harvard  University  in  1763,  and  after 
the  usual  course  of  professional  studies  was  admitted  to  the 
practice  of  law  ;  when  the  dissensions  between  the  mother 
countrv  and  our  own  commenced,  lie  became  the  champion 
and  leader  of  the  Whigs  of  the  locality  in  which  he  lived; 
was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Inspection  and  Corre- 
spondence, and  bore  the  entire  burden  of  writing  the 
address  which,  in  1774,  the  inhabitants  of  Salem  in  full 
town  meeting  voted  to  Governor  Gage  on  the  occasion  of 
the  Boston  port  bill.  That  part  of  it  disclaiming  any  wish 
on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Salem  to  profit  by  the  clos- 
ing of  the  port  of  Boston  is  quoted  by  Dr.  Ramsay  in  his 
history  of  the  American  Revolution.  In  April,  1773, 
on  receiving  intelligence  of  the  P>attle  of  Lexington,  he 
marched  with  a  regiment,  of  which  he  was  at  the  time  com- 
mander, to  Charlestown,  but  had  not  an  opportunity  of 
engaging  in  battle.  Before  the  close  of  the  same  year, 
when  the  provisional  government  was  organizing,  he  was 
appointed  one  of  the  judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas 
for  Essex,  his  native  county,  and  sole  judge  of  the  maritime 
court  for  the  middle  district,  comprehending  boston,  Salem, 


98     History  and  Functions  oj  the  Department  of  State. 

and    the  other  parts  in  Essex.      These   offices  he  held  till 
he  accepted  an  appointment  in  the  Army. 

In  1777  he  was  named  Adjutant-General  by  Washington, 
and  joined  the  Army,  then  at  Middlebrook,  N.  J.;  continued 
with  the  Commander  in  Chief  till  the  American  forces  went 
into  winter  quarters  at  Valley  Forge,  having  been  present 
at  the  battles  of  Brandywine  and  Germantown.  He  then 
proceeded  to  discharge  the  duties  of  a  member  of  the  Con- 
tinental Board  of  War,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  by 
Congress.  In  this  station  he  remained  till  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  succeed  General  Greene  in  the  office  of  Quarter- 
master-General, which  he  retained  during  the  residue  of  the 
war,  and  in  which  he  contributed  much  to  the  surrender  of 
Cornwallis  at  Yorktown.  From  1790  to  1794  he  was 
charged  by  President  Washington  with  several  negotiations 
with  the  Indian  nations  on  our  frontiers.  In  1791  he  was 
made  Postmaster-General;  in  1794  removed  from  that  sta- 
tion to  the  Secretaryship  of  War,  on  the  resignation  of 
General  Knox.  August  20,  i'/95')  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  State  ad  interim,  vice  Edmund  Randolph;  was  commis- 
sioned Secretary  of  State  December  /o,  1/95;  was  removed 
from  this  office  by  President  Adams  May  12,  1800.  At  the 
end  of  the  year  1801  returned  to  Massachusetts.  The  legisla- 
ture of  that  State  elected  him,  in  1803,  United  States  Sena- 
tor for  the  residue  of  the  term  of  Dwight  Booster,  who  had 
resigned,  and  in  1805  reelected  him  for  the  term  of  six 
years.  After  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  Senator,  1711, 
he  was  chosen  by  the  legislature  a  member  of  the  executive 
council.  During  the  war  of  1S12  he  was  appointed  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  War  for  the  defense  of  the  State.  In 
1. Si.)  he  was  returned  to  Congress  and  held  his  seat  till 
March,  [817,  when  he  finally  retired  to  private  life.  Died 
January  29,  1829.  ^n  1867  his  biography  was  published  by 
his  son  ( )ctavins. 


TIMOTHY    PICKERING. 


JOHN    MARSHALL. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  <>/  State.     99 

Charles  Lee,  of  Virginia,  Attorney-General,  was  ap- 
pointed Secretary  of  State  ad  interim  May  [3,  1800. 

John  Marshall  was  born  in  Fauquier  County,  Ya., 
September  24,  1755,  and  was  trie  oldest  of  fifteen  children; 
had  some  classical  education  in  his  youth,  but  his  opportu- 
nities for  learning  were  limited,  and  he  never  entered  college, 
his  father,  Thomas  Marshall,  being  a  poor  man,  but  pos- 
sessed of  superior  talents.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolutionary  war  he  espoused  the  cause  of  liberty  with 
ardor;  in  1776  was  appointed  lieutenant,  and  in  1777  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  captain;  in  1780  was  admitted  to  the 
bar;  in  17S1  resigned  his  commission  and  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  soon  rising  to  distinction;  was  a 
member  of  the  Virginia  Convention  to  ratify  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  as  such  produced  a  dee]) 
impression  by  his  logic  and  eloquence;  also  entered  the 
legislature  of  Virginia,  where  he  was  a  leader.  President 
Washington  invited  him  to  become  Attorney-General,  and 
tendered  him  the  mission  to  France  after  Mr.  Monroe's  re- 
turn, both  of  which  honors  he  declined.  President  Adams 
appointed  him  an  Envoy  to  France,  with  Pickering  and 
<  Terry,  but  they  were  not  accredited,  and  he  returned  to  the 
United  States  in  1798;  was  Representative  in  Congress  in 
1799;  in  1800  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War,  which  office 
he  declined;  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  May  rj,  rSoo, 
and  retired  March  4,  1801;  January  31,  18.01,  upon  the 
nomination  of  President  Adams,  was  confirmed  as  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  He 
wrote  a  life  of  George  Washington  and  a  History  of  the 
American  Colonies.  Died  in  Philadelphia  July  6,  1836.  As 
a  judge  he  was  most  illustrious,  and  for  his  public  service 
was  ranked  by  many  with  Washington.  He  was  the  object 
of  universal  affection,  respect,  and  confidence,  and  in  every 
particular  one  of  the  greatest  and  best  of  men. 


ioo     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

Levi  Lincoln,  of  Massachusetts  (Attorney-General), 
entered  upon  duties  as  .Secretary  of  State  ad  interim  March 

4,   1S01;   retired  May   i,   1S01. 

James  Madison  was  born  on  the  banks  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock River,  Virginia,  March  16,  1751;  after  due  prepa- 
ration entered  Princeton  College  in  1769  and  graduated  in 
1 771,  going  through  the  junior  and  senior  studies  in  one 
\ear;  remained  at  the  college  until  1772,  for  the  purpose  of 
studying  Hebrew;  in  1776  was  sent  to  the  general  assembly; 
in  1  77S  was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Council;  from  1779 
to  1785  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  was 
again  elected  in  1786;  was  a  member  of  the  "  Convention  at 
Philadelphia"  which  framed  the  Federal  Constitution,  and 
signed  that  instrument;  was  a  Representative  in  Congress 
from  Virginia,  under  the  Constitution,  from  1789  to  1797; 
was  one  of  those  who  voted  for  locating  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment on  the  Potomac;  in  1798  went  again  into  the  assembly; 
in  1800  was  an  elector  for  President;  was  appointed  Secre- 
tary of  State  March  -,",  /So/,  and  entered  upon  his  duties 
May  -\  /So/;  retired  March  j,  r£op,  when  he  was  elected 
President  of  the  United  States,  and- served  two  entire  terms; 
after  leaving  the  Executive  chair  he  retired  to  private  life  on 
his  estate,  known  as  Montpelier;  was  subsequently  a  visitor 
and  rector  of  the  University  of  Virginia;  in  1829  was  a 
member  of  the  vState  Convention,  which  was  the  last  public 
position  he  held,  lie  was  one  of  the  contributors  to  the 
Federalist,  and  his  collected  State  papers  and  miscellaneous 
writings  have  been  published  in  several  volumes.  His 
Report  of  the  Debates  in  the  Federal  Convention  of  1787 
has  been  accepted  as  a  political  text-book  of  great  value. 
Died  at  Montpelier,  Orange  County,  \'a.,  June  28,  1836. 
A  work  on  his  life  and  times  was  published  by  William  C. 
Rives  in  1S61. 


JAMES    MADISON. 


1 


ROBERT  SMITH. 


m  a 


JAMES    MONROE. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State,      [oi 

ROBERT  Smith  was  born  in  Lancaster,  Pa.,  November, 
1757;  was  graduated  from  Princeton  in  1781,  and  was  present 
at  the  batik-  of  Brandywine  as  a  volunteer;  studied  law  and 
practiced  in  Baltimore;  was  Presidential  elector  in  1 7S9; 
was  elected  a  State  senator  in  1793;  from  1796  till  r8oo 
served  as  a  member  of  the  house  of  delegates,  and  from  1798 
till  i8oi  sat  in  the  first  branch  of  the  city  council  of  Balti- 
more; was  Secretary  of  the  Navy  from  January  26,  1802, 
till  1805;  United  States  Attorney-General  from  March  till 
December,  1805;  Secretary  of  State  from  March  6,  1809, 
till  April  /,  181 1 ;  was  appointed  chancellor  of  Maryland, 
and  chief  judge  of  the  district  of  Baltimore,  but  declined; 
was  offered  the  embassy  to  Russia,  which  he  declined;  was 
president  of  an  auxiliary  of  the  American  Bible  Society  in 
1  Si 3;  was  president  of  the  Maryland  Agricultural  Society 
in  1818;  in  1 8 1 3  succeeded  Archbishop  John  Carroll  as  pro- 
vost of  the  University  of  Maryland.  Died  in  Baltimore 
November  26,  1842. 

James  Monroe  was  born  April  28,  1758,  in  Westmore- 
land Comity,  Va.;  was  educated  at  William  and  Mary  Col- 
lege; in  1776  joined  the  Army  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  continued  with  it  till  1778,  displaying  great  bravery; 
then  retired  and  engaged  in  the  study  of  law;  in  1780  held 
the  position  of  military  commissioner  for  Virginia,  and  in 
that  capacity  visited  the  Southern  army;  in  1782  was  a 
member  of  the  Virginia  assembly,  and  in  1783  was  a  Dele- 
gate to  Congress;  in  178S  was  a  member  of  the  convention 
in  Virginia  to  deliberate  on  the  proposed  Constitution  for 
the  United  States;  in  1790  was  elected  a  Senator  of  the 
United  .States  from  Virginia;  in  1794  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  minister  plenipotentiary  to  France,  and  was  re- 
called in  1797;  in  1799  was  elected  governor  of  Virginia; 
in  1802  was  sent  on  a  special  mission  to   France,  which  re- 


io2     History  and  functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

suited  in  the  purchase  of  Louisiana;  in  1803  was  appointed 
minister  to  England;  in  1805  was  associated  with  Charles 
Pinckney  to  negotiate  with  Spain;  during  his  residence  in 
England  he  and  Mr.  William  Pinkney  negotiated  a  com- 
mercial treaty  with  Great  Britain,  but  it  was  never  submit- 
ted to  the  Senate  by  President  Jefferson;  returned  to  Amer- 
ica in  [808;  in  1811  was  governor  of  Virginia,  and  April 
2,  /<V//,  entered  upon  his  duties  as  Secretary  of  State; 
while  Secretary  of  War  was  ad  interim  Secretary  of  State, 
September  30,  1814;  was' again  commissioned  Secretary  of 
State  February  28,  1&15;  retired  March  3 ',  18 17;  during  a 
part  of  the  time  in  1814  and  181 5  he  also  performed  the 
duties  of  Secretary  of  War;  was  again  elected  President  in 
1 821;  died  July  4,  1831. 

John  Ouixcv  Adams  was  born  in  Braintree  (now  Quince), 
Mass.,  May  n,  1767.  When  10  years  of  age  accompanied 
his  father  to  France,  and  when  15  was  private  secretary  to 
the  American  minister  in  Russia;  graduated  at  Harvard 
University  in  1787;  studied  law  in  Newburyport,  and  set- 
tled in  Boston.  From  1794  to  1801  was  American  minister 
to  Holland,  England,  Sweden,  and  Prussia;  was  a  Senator  in 
Congress  from  1803  to  1808;  professor  of  rhetoric  in  Har- 
vard University,  with  limited  duties,  from  1806  to  [808. 
In  1809  was  appointed  minister  to  Russia;  assisted  in  nego- 
tiating the  treaty  of  Ghent,  in  1814;  assisted  also  as  minister 
at  the  convention  of  commerce  with  Great  Britain,  in  [815; 
was  commissioned  Secretary  of  State  March  •,",  /S/j,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties  September  22,  iS  1  j ;  retired  March 
7,  1825;  was  chosen  President  of  the  United  States  in  [825, 
serving  one  term.  In  1831  was  elected  a  Representative  in 
Congress  and  continued  in  that  position  till  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  the  Speaker's  room  two  days  after  falling  from 


JOHN    QUINCY    ADAMS. 


HENRY    CLAY. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.      [03 

his  scat  in  the  House-  of  Representatives,  February  23,  1848. 
His  last  words  were,  "This  is  the  end  of  earth;  I  am  con- 
tent." He  was  chairman  of  several  of  the  most  important 
committees,  and  always  a  working  member  of  the  House. 
He  published  Letters  on  Silesia,  Lectures  on  Rhetoric  and 
Oratory,  and  various  Poems,  besides  main- occasional  letters 
and  speeches.  His  unpublished  writings,  it  is  said,  would 
make  many  volumes.  An  elaborate  history  of  his  life  was 
published  in  1N75,  edited  by  his  son,  Charles  Francis  Adams. 

John  Graham,  Chief  Clerk,  was  appointed  ad  interim 

Secretary  March  4,  1817;   retired  March  10,  1817. 

Richard  Rush,  of  Pennsylvania  (Attorney-General),  en- 
tered upon  the  duties  as  Secretary  of  State  ad  interim  March 
10,  [817,  and  retired  September  22,  1S17. 

DANIEL  BRENT,  Chief  Clerk,  ad  intend/,  March  4,  1825; 
retired  March  7,  1825. 

Henry  Ci.av  was  born  in  Hanover  County,  Va.,  April  12, 
1777;  received  a  common  school  education;  became  at  an 
early  age  a  copyist  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  court  of 
chancery,  at  Richmond;  at  the  age  of  19  commenced  the 
stud\-  of  law  ;  shortly  afterwards  removed  to  Lexington,  K\ ., 
where  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1799,  and  soon  attained 
extensive  practice;  began  his  political  career  by  taking  an 
active  part  in  the  election  of  delegates  to  frame  a  new  con- 
stitution for  the  State  of  Kentucky;  in  1803  was  elected  to 
tlu-  legislature;  in  1806  was  appointed  to  the  United  States 
Senate  for  the  remainder  of  the  term  of  General  Adair,  who 
had  resigned;  in  1.807  was  again  elected  a  member  of  the 
general  assembly  of  Kentucky,  and  was  chosen  speaker;  in 
the  following  year  fought  a  duel  with  Humphrey  Marshall; 


104     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

in  1809  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  for  the  un- 
expired term  of  Mr.  Thurston,  resigned  ;  in  181 1  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives;  was  chosen 
Speaker  on  the  first  day  of  his  appearance  in  that  body,  and 
was  five  times  reelected  to  this  office;  during-  this  session 
his  eloquence  aroused  the  country  to  resist  the  aggressions 
of  Great  Britain,  and  awakened  a  national  spirit ;  in  1814 
was  appointed  one  of  the  Commissioners  to  negotiate  a 
Treatv  of  Peace  at  Ghent ;  returning  from  this  mission  was 
reelected  to  Congress,  and  in  1818  spoke  in  favor  of  recog- 
nizing the  independence  of  the  South  American  Republic  ; 
in  the  same  year  put  forth  his  strength  in  behalf  of  the 
national  system  of  internal  improvements ;  a  monument 
of  stone  inscribed  with  his  name  was  erected  on  the  Cum- 
berland Road  to  commemorate  his  services  in  behalf  of 
that  improvement;  in  the  session  of  1819-20  he  exerted  him- 
self for  the  establishment  of  protection  of  American  indus- 
trv;  this  was  followed  by  services  in  adjusting  the  Missouri 
Compromise;  after  the  settlement  of  these  questions  he  with- 
drew from  Congress  in  order  to  attend  to  his  private  affairs; 
in  1823  returned  to  Congress  and  was  reelected  Speaker,  and 
at  this  session  exerted  himself  in  support  of  the  independ- 
ence of  Greece;  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  by  Presi- 
dent John  Quincy  Adams  and  entered  upon  Jiis  duties  March 
7,  1825;  retired  March  J,  1829.  The  attack  upon  Mr. 
Adams's  Administration,  and  especially  upon  the  Secretary 
of  State,  by  John  Randolph,  led  to  the  hostile  meeting  be- 
tween him  and  Mr.  Clay,  which  terminated  without  blood- 
shed; in  1 829  returned  to  Kentucky,  and  in  1831  was  elected 
to  the  United  States  Senate',  where  he  commenced  his  labors 
in  favor  of  the  tariff;  in  the  same  month  of  his  reappearance 
in  the  Senate  was  unanimously  nominated  for  President  of 
the  United  States;  in  1836  was  reelected  to  the  Senate,  where 
he  remained  until  1842,  when  he  resigned  and  took  his  final 


MARTIN    VAN    BUREN. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Slate.      105 

leave  as  he  supposed  of  that  body;  in  [839  was  again  nomi- 
nated for  the  I 'residency,  but  General  Harrison  was  elected; 
also  received  the  nomination  in  1844  for  President,  and  was 
defeated  in  Ins  election  by  Mr.  Polk;  remained  in  retirement 
in  Kentucky  until  1849,  when  he  was  again  elected  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  for  the  term  ending  in  1855; 
here  he  devoted  all  his  energies  to  the  measures  known  as 
the  Compromise  acts;  his  efforts  during  this  session  impaired 
his  strength,  and  he  went,  for  his  health,  to  Havana  and  New 
Orleans,  but  with  no  permanent  advantage;  returned  to 
Washington,  bnt  was  unable  to  participate  in  the  active 
duties  of  the  Senate,  and  resigned  his  seat,  to  take  effect  on 
the  6th  of  September,  1852;  died  in  Washington  Citv  June 
29,  1852.  His  "  Life  and  Letters  "  and  also  his  "  Speeches  " 
were  published  in  several  volumes  by  the  late  Calvin  Colton. 

James  Alexander  Hamilton  was  born  in  New  York 
City  April  14,  1788;  was  graduated  from  Columbia  in  1805; 
served  in  the  war  of  181 2-1 81 5  as  brigade-major  and 
inspector  in  the  New  York  State  Militia,  and  afterwards 
practiced  law;  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State,  ad  interim, 
by  President  Jackson,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  as  sue// 
March  7,  rS2p;  retired  from  the  office  March  27,  1^29; 
April  3  he  was  nominated  United  States  District  Attorney 
for  the  southern  district  of  New  York;  the  degree  of  LX.  D. 
was  conferred  upon  him  by  Hamilton  College;  he  published 
Reminiscences  of  Hamilton,  or  Men  and  Events,  At  Home 
and  Abroad,  During  Three-Quarters  of  a  Century,  in  1869. 
Died  in  Irvington,  N.  Y.,  September  24,  1878. 

Martin  Van  Buren  was  born  in  Kinderhook,  N.  Y.. 
December  5,  1782;  rose  to  eminence  in  his  State  both  as 
a  lawyer  and  as  a  Democratic  politician;  was  noted  as  an 
adroit   party   manager,   and   was    styled    in   his  time  as  the 


106     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

"Little  Magician;"  he  was  a  State  senator,  United  States  Sen- 
ator, 1821-182S;  governor,  1828-1829,  and  was  appointed 
Secretary  of  State  March  6,  1829,  and  entered  upon  his 
ditties  March  28,  r82p;  re/ire//  May  23,  1831.  President 
Jackson,  in  1831,  appointed  him  United  States  Minister  to 
England,  but  the  Senate  refused  to  confirm  the  nomination; 
was  elected  with  Jackson  for  the  latter's  second  term, 
serving  as  Vice-President,  1833-1837,  and  was  the  chosen 
heir  to  the  succession,  being  elected  by  170  votes  over  the 
Whig  candidate,  Harrison,  in  1836;  among  the  features  of 
public  interest  in  the  Administration  were  the  disastrous 
panic  in  1837,  the  independent  Treasury  system,  and  the 
preemption  law;  in  1840  he  was  pitted  against  his  former 
antagonist,  but  was  defeated,  receiving  only  60  electoral 
votes;  in  1844  Ex-President  Van  Bnren  had  a  majority,  but 
not  two-thirds  majority  of  votes  in  the  Democratic  National 
Convention;  he  opposed  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  was 
discarded  for  Polk;  in  1848  he  wras  the  FYee  Soil  candidate, 
and  diverted  enough  Democratic  votes  to  defeat  Cass  and 
elect  Taylor.      Died,  July  24,  1862. 

Edward  Livingston  was  born  at  Claremont,  Livingston 
Manor,  New  York,  1 764  ;  graduated  from  Princeton  College 
in  1 781;  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1785; 
pursued  his  profession  until  1795,  when  he  was  elected  a 
Representative  to  Congress  from  New  York  City,  serving 
until  1802;  was  then  appointed  United  States  attorney  for 
the  district  of  New  York,  and  was  also  mayor  of  the  city; 
removed  to  New  ( )rleans  in  1804,  and  became  eminent  there 
as  a  lawyer;  during  the  invasion  of  Louisiana  by  the  British 
acted  as  an  aid  to  General  Jackson;  was  employed  in  nego- 
tiations for  the  exchange  of  prisoners  after  the  war;  was 
elected  a  Representative  in  Congress  from  Louisiana  from 
1823  to  [829!   was  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  from  1829 


EDWARD    LIVINGSTON. 


LOUIS    McLANE. 


JOHN    FORSYTH. 


History  and  Functions  of  ///<■  Department  of  State.     107 

to  [83]  ;   was   appointed  by   President  Jackson  Secretary  of 
State,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  May  _•>./,  r8ji;   retired 
May  29,  1833;   in    [833  was  made  Minister  to  France;  his 
Penal    Code    is  considered  a    monument    of    his    profound 
learning.      Died  at  Rhinebeck,  X.  Y.,  May  23,  1836. 

Louis  McLaxk  was  born  in  Smyrna,  Kent  County,  Del., 
May  28,  1784;  when  12  years  of  age  was  appointed  a  mid- 
shipman in  the  Navy,  on  leaving  which,  in  1801,  he  studied 
law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1S07;  in  1S12  was  a 
volunteer  in  a  company  commanded  by  Caesar  H.  Rodney 
and  marched  to  the  relief  of  Baltimore  when  threatened  by 
the  British;  was  a  Representative  in  Congress  from  Delaware 
from  1  Si  7  to  1S27,  a  Senator  in  Congress  from  1827  to 
[829;  in  the  latter  year  was  appointed  by  President  Jackson 
minister  to  England,  where  he  remained  two  years;  in  1  S3 1 
received  the  appointment  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury; 
was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  by  President  Jackson  and 
entered  upon  his  duties  May  _v,  1833;  retired  June  30,  1834.; 
in  [837  was  chosen  president  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  Company,  removing  to  Maryland;  discharged  the 
duties  of  that  office  till  1S47;  during  the  Administration  of 
President  Polk  accepted  the  mission  to  England  while  the 
(  Oregon  negotiations  were  pending,  after  which  he  returned 
to  Maryland,  and  in  1850  represented  Cecil  Comity  in  the 
vState  constitutional  convention;  held  a  high  rank  as  a  states- 
man.     Died  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  in   1S57. 

John  Forsyth  was  born  in  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  ( >cto- 
ber  2,  1780;  graduated  from  Princeton  College  in  1799; 
removed  with  his  father  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  afterwards 
to  Augusta,  Ga.;  studied  law,  and  from  1802  to  1N0S  dis- 
tinguished himself  at  the  Georgia  bar;  in  [808  was  attorney- 
general  of  the  State;  was  a  Representative  in  Congress  from 
Georgia  from    [813   to    1N1S  and    from    [823   to    1S27;   was 


ro8     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

United  States  Senator  during  the  years  1818  and  1819  and 
from  1S29  to  1837,  serving  as  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Commerce;  was  governor  of  Georgia  in  1827,  1828,  and 
1829;  was  minister  to  Spain  from  1819  to  1822;  ivas 
appointed  Secretary  oj  Stale  June  2j,  r&J4,  and  eu/ereei 
upon  his  ditties  July  /,  1834.;  retired  March  j,  184.1,  having 
been  continued  as  Secretary  by  President  Van  Buren  till 
tlie  end  of  his  Administration.  His  superior  abilities  were 
universally  acknowledged,  and  the  dignity  and  elegance 
of  his  manners  added  much  to  his  popularity.  Died  in 
Washington  City,  of  bilious  fever.  ( )etober  21,  1841. 

J.  L,.  Martin,  of  North  Carolina  (Chief  Clerk),  entered 
npon  duties  as  Secretary  of  State  ad  interim,  March  3,  1841; 
retired  March  4,  1841. 

Daniel  Webster  was  born  in  the  town  of  Salisbury, 
N.  H.,  January  18,  1782;  his  opportunities  for  education 
were  very  limited,  and  he  was  indebted  to  his  mother  for 
his  earliest  instruction;  for  a  few  months  onlv,  in  1796, 
enjoyed  the  advantages  of  Phillips  Kxeter  Academv;  here 
his  preparation  for  college  began,  and  it  was  completed  at 
Barcawen;  entered  Dartmouth  College  in  1797,  and  grad- 
uated in  1 801;  soon  after  graduating  engaged  in  professional 
studies,  first  in  his  native  village  and  afterwards  at  Frvebnrv, 
in  Maine,  where  at  the  same  time  he  had  charge  of  the 
academy,  and  was  also  a  copyist  in  the  office  of  the  reg- 
ister of  deeds.  Having  completed  his  legal  studies,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Suffolk,  Mass.,  in  the  vear  1805; 
commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  his  native  State  and 
county;  in  [807  removed  to  Portsmouth,  X.  H.,  and  soon 
became  engaged  in  a  respectable  but  not  lucrative  practice; 
in  181  2  was  chosen  a  Representative  in  Congress  from  New 
Hampshire  and   was  reelected;  removed  to  Boston  in  1816, 


DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.      too, 

and  was  at  once  placed  beside  the  leaders  of  the  Massachu- 
setts bar;  by  his  argument  in  the  Dartmouth  Qollege  east.-, 
carried  by  appeal  to  Washington  in  1 S 1  j ,  he  took  rank 
among  the  most  distinguished  lawyers  in  the  country;  in  [820 
was  chosen  a  member  of  the  convention  for  revising  the  con- 
stitution of  Massachusetts;  was  offered  about  this  time  nomi- 
nation as  Senator  of  the  United  States,  but  declined  it;  in  1S22 
was  elected  a  Representative  in  Congress  from  the  city  of 
Boston;  took  his  seat  in  December,  1823,  and  early  in  the 
session  made  bis  celebrated  speech  on  tbeOreek  Revolution 
which  at  once  establisbed  bis  reputation  as  one  of  the  first 
statesmen  of  the  age;  was  reelected  in  1826,  and  under  the 
Presidency  of  John  Ouincy  Adams  was  the  leader  of  the 
friends  of  the  Administration,  first  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  afterwards  in  the  Senate,  to  which  be  was 
elected  in  1827.  His  speech  on  the  Panama  mission  was 
made  in  the  first  session  of  the  Nineteenth  Congress.  When 
the  tariff  law  of  1S24  was  brought  forward  be  spoke  against 
it  on  the  ground  of  expediency;  remained  in  the  Senate  for 
a  period  of  twelve  years.  In  1830  made  what  is  generally 
regarded  the  ablest  of  bis  parliamentary  efforts,  bis  second 
speech  in  reply  to  Robert  Y.  Hayne,  of  South  Carolina. 
Air.  Webster,  although  opposed  to  the  Administration  of 
( ieiieral  Jackson,  gave  it  a  cordial  support  in  its  measures 
for  the  defense  of  the  Union  in  1832  and  1833,  but  opposed 
its  financial  system.  In  1839  he  made  a  short  visit  to 
Europe.  His  fame  bad  preceded  him  and  be  was  received 
with  the  attention  due  to  bis  character  and  talents  at  the 
French  and  English  courts.  President  Harrison  appointed 
fiii)/  Secretary  of  State  and  he  entered  upon  his  duties  March 
t,  /<Vy/,-  retired  May  A',  /"&£_?,  having  been  continued  as  Sec- 
retary by  President  Tyler.  President  Tyler's  Cabinet  was 
broken  up  in  1S41,  but  Mr.  Webster  remained  as  bis  Secre- 
tary of  State;  was   returned   to  the   Senate  of  the   United 


no     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State 

States  in  1845;  remained  in  that  body  until  1850,  when  he 
was  appointed  by  President  Fillmore  Secretary  of  State \  and 
entered  upon  his  duties  July  _>_\  fSjo;  died  while  in  office 
October  24,  1852.  In  December,  1850,  the  famous  Hulse- 
mann  letter  was  written.  In  [851,  by  his  judicious  man- 
agement of  the  Cuban  question,  he  obtained  from  the  Spanish 
Go  eminent  the  pardon  of  the  followers  of  Lopez,  who  had 
been  deported  from  Spain;  about  the  same  time  received 
from  the  English  Government  an  apology  for  the  interfer- 
ence of  a  British  cruiser  with  an  American  steamer  in  the 
waters  of  Nicaragua;  this  was  the  second  time  that  the 
Britisli  Government  had  made  a  similar  concession  at  the 
instance  of  Mr.  Webster,  the  first  was  in  reference  to  the 
destruction  of  the  Caroline  at  Schlosser;  and  it  is  under- 
stood that  it  was  on  the  strength  of  a  private  letter  that  he 
addressed  to  Lord  Palmerston  that  John  R  Crampton  was 
made  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Washington.  When  not 
engaged  in  public  business  at  Washington,  he  was  either  at 
Marshfield,  Mass.,  or  the  place  of  his  birth  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, where  he  paid  much  attention  to  agriculture  and  his 
residence.  The  works  of  Mr.  Webster  were  published  in 
six  volumes,  with  biographical  memoir  by  Edward  Everett. 
In  1 S5 j  two  volumes  of  his  private  correspondence  were 
published  by  his  son,  Fletcher  Webster,  subsequently  killed 
in  battle  during  the  Rebellion,  in  1862.  A  complete  life  of 
this  statesman,  in  two  volumes,  was  published  by  George  T. 
Curtis. 

Hrc.H  vS.  Lh<;ark  was  born  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  January 
2>  I7^9;  graduated  from  college  in  that  State  1814,  and 
after  having  studied  law  went  to  Europe,  where  he  remained 
until  [820,  occupied  with  the  pursuits  of  literature;  <>n  his 
return  to  Charleston  devoted  himself  to  the  practice  of  his 
profession  and  to  agricultural  pursuits;  in  1  <\}<>  was  appointed 


ABEL    P.    UPSHUR. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State,      i  1 1 

attorney-general  of  the  State,  and  was  the  principal  editor 
of  the  Southern  Review;  in  1832  was  charge*  d'affaires  at 
Brussels,  Belgium;  from  1837  to  1839  was  a  Representative 

of  South  Carolina  in  Congress;  in  1S41  was  appointed  by 
President  Tyler  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States;  was 
appointed  Secretary  of  State  ad  interim  and  entered  upon 
his  duties  May  9,  1843;  died  suddenly  at  Boston  June  20, 
[843,  while  accompanying  the  President  in  his  journey  to 
attend  the  Bunker  Hill  celebration.  His  fine  taste  as  a 
writer,  his  eminent  acquirements  as  a  scholar,  and  his  learn- 
ing and  eloquence  as  a  lawyer  were  known  and  appreciated 
throughout  the  Union.  His  writings  were  collected  and 
published  in  1846. 

William  S.  Derrick,  of  Pennsylvania  (Chief  Clerk), 
entered  upon  duties  as  Secretary  of  State  ad  interim  June 
21,  1843;  retired  June  24,  1843. 

Abel  P.  Upshur  was  born  in  Northampton  County,  Ya., 
June  17,  1790;  graduated  from  Nassau  Hall  in  1807;  studied 
law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar;  located  in  Richmond, 
where  he  practiced  his  profession  from  1810  to  1824;  m 
1826  was  chosen  judge  of  the  general  court  of  the  State; 
was  a  member  of  the  State  constitutional  convention  in 
1829;  was  again  chosen  judge,  serving  main'  years;  in  1841 
went  into  the  Cabinet  of  President  Tyler  as  Secretary  of  the 
Navy;  whit  Secretary  oj  the  Navy  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  State  ad  interim,  entering  upon  his  duties  as  such  June 
-'./,  rS^J,  and  teas  commissioned  Secretary  of  State  July  24, 
1843;  on  the  28th  of  February,  1X44,  was  killed  by  the 
explosion  of  a  gun  on  hoard  the  war  steamer  Princeton. 

John  Nelson,  Attorney-General,  was  born  in  Frederick, 
Md.,  June  1,  1  791.      He  was  the  son  of  Roger  Nelson,  who 


i  i  2     Hist  n  r  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

was  a  brigadier-general  in  the  Revolutionary  Army,  and  was 
left  for  dead  on  the  field  of  Camden,  but  recovered  and  after- 
wards became  a  member  of  Congress  and  district  judge  of 
Maryland.  John  Nelson  was  sent  to  William  and  Mary 
College,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1811.  He  took  up  the 
study  of  law,  and  two  years  later  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
and  began  practice.  Very  little  is  recorded  of  his  after  life, 
except  that  he  was  a  Democrat  in  politics;  was  a  member 
of  Congress  two  years,  from  1821;  was  appointed  United 
States  minister  to  the  court  of  Naples  in  1831  by  President 
Jackson,  of  whom  he  was  an  enthusiastic  supporter;  was 
appointed  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  by  Presi- 
dent Tyler  January  2,  1 S44,  succeeding  Hugh  S.  Legare, 
who  died  in  office;  71'as  appointed  by  President  Tyler  Sec- 
retary of  State  ad  interim  and  entered  upon  his  duties  Feb- 
ruary 29,  1X-J4;  retired  March  31 ',  /cVyy.  Died  in  Baltimore, 
Md.,  January  28,  i860. 

John  C.  Calhoun  was  born  in  Abbeville  district,  South 
Carolina,  March  18,  1782,  of  an  Irish  family;  at  the  age  of 
13  years  was  put  under  the  charge  of  his  brother-in-law, 
Dr.  Waddell,  in  Columbia  County,  Ga.;  entered  Yale  Col- 
lege in  1802  and  graduated  with  distinction;  studied  law  at 
Litchfield,  Conn.,  and  in  1S07  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
South  Carolina;  the  next  year  entered  the  legislature  of 
that  State,  where  he  served  for  two  sessions  with  ability  and 
distinction;  in  1S11  was  elected  to  Congress;  became  Sec- 
retary of  War  under  President  Monroe,  and  conducted  the 
affairs  of  that  Department  with  energy  and  ability  for  seven 
years;  in  [824  was  elected  Vice-President;  in  1831,  upon 
General  Hayne's  leaving  the  Senate  to  become  governor  of 
South  Carolina,  Mr.  Calhoun  resigned  the  Vice-Presidency 
and  was  elected  by  the  legislature  of  South  Carolina  a  mem- 
ber of  the  United  States  Senate-;  after  the  expiration  of  his 


JOHN    C.   CALHOUN. 


JAMES    BUCHANAN. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.      1 13 

Senatorial  term  went  voluntarily  into  retirement;  was  com- 
missioned Secretary  0/ State  March  6,  /<Vyy,  and  entered 
npo)i  the  duties  of  the  office  April  1,  /<V/y,-  retired  March 
ro,  1845.  In  1845  was  again  elected  Senator,  which  office 
lie  held  till  his  decease.  From  1811,  when  he  entered 
Congress,  till  his  death,  he  was  rarely  absent  from  Wash- 
ington, and  during  the  greater  part  of  that  period  was  in  the 
public  service  of  his  State  and  country.  He  entered  Con- 
gress at  a  time  of  unusual  excitement  preceding  the  decla- 
ration of  war  of  1812,  and  exercised  great  influence  in  favor 
of  that  measure.  In  the  difficulties  and  embarrassments 
upon  the  termination  of  war  and  the  transition  to  a  peace 
establishment  he  took  a  responsible  part. 

A.S  a  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate  he  was  punctual, 
methodical,  and  accurate,  and  had  a  high  regard  for  the 
dignity  of  the  body,  which  he  endeavored  to  preserve  and 
maintain.  His  connection  with  nullification,  his  views  on 
the  tariff,  his  opinion  in  regard  to  slavery  and  the  many 
and  exciting  questions  arising  from  it,  are  well  known.  He 
shaped  the  course  and  molded  the  opinions  of  the  people  of 
his  own  State,  and  of  some  other  Southern  States,  upon  all 
these  subjects.  Amid  all  the  strifes  of  part}-  politics,  there 
always  existed  between  him  and  his  political  opponents  a 
great  degree  of  personal  kindness.  He  died  in  Washington 
D.  C,  March  31,  1850.  His  collected  writings  and  speeches 
were  published  in  six  volumes,  in  1854  to  1857,  accom- 
panied with  a  biography. 

JAMES  Buchanan  was  born  in  Franklin  County,  Pa., 
April  23,  1  791;  after  a  regular  course  of  classical  education 
studied  and  practiced  law  in  Lancaster,  Pa.;  in  181 4  was 
elected  to  the  State  legislature,  and  was  reelected  the  next 
year;  in  1821  entered  Congress  as  a  Representative  from 
the   Lancaster    district,   and  continued   to  be  returned   till 


i  i.j      History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

[831,  when  he  declined  a  reelection;  in  1832  was  appointed 
by  President  Jackson  minister  to  Russia;  on  his  return  from 
that  mission,  in  1834,  was  elected  by  the  legislature  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of 
William  Wilkins,  who  had  resigned;  was  reelected  in  1837 
and  in  1843;  in  1845  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  and 
ivas  commissioned  Secretary  of  State  March  <5,  1845,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties  March  //,  1845;  retired  March  J ', 
i$4y;  at  the  close  of  the  eventful  administration  of  Presi- 
dent Polk  he  retired  to  private  life  at  his  residence, 
"  Wheatland,"  near  Lancaster;  was  again  summoned  to  the 
public  service  in  1853,  when  he  accepted  from  President 
Pierce  the  place  of  minister  of  the  United  States  to  the 
Court  of  St.  James;  resigned  this  office  and  returned  home 
in  1856;  in  the  summer  of  that  year  received  the  Demo- 
cratic nomination  for  President  of  the  United  States;  was 
elected  and  served  till  the  commencement  of  the  rebellion 
in  1861;  in  1865  he  published  a  book  giving  a  history  of 
the  close  of  his  Administration.  Died  at  Wheatland,  Pa., 
June  1,  1868. 

JOHN  M.  CLAYTON  was  born  in  Sussex  County,  Del., 
July  24,  1790;  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1815;  was  bred 
to  the  bar,  having  studied  law  in  the  office  of  John  Clayton, 
and  for  a  time  in  the  law  school  in  Litchfield,  Conn.;  com- 
menced practice  in  1818,  and  soon  attained  immense  popu- 
larity in  his  profession;  in  1S24  was  elected  to  the  State 
legislature,  and  subsequently  secretary  of  state  of  Delaware; 
in  1X29  was  chosen  United  States  Senator;  reelected 
[835;  resigned  in  December,  1836;  in  January,  [837,  was 
appointed  chief  justice  of  Delaware,  which  office  he  resigned 
in  [839;  was  again  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  in 
184s;  resigned  and  was  commissioned  Secretary  of  State 
by  President  Taylor  A/arc//  7,  /<v./<y,  and  entered  upon  his 


JOHN    M.    CLAYTON. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State,      i  15 

duties  the  same  date;  retired  July  j-\  r<$j;o,  upon  the  death 
of  Taylor,  in  July,  i>s,sn;  during  this  period  he  negotiated 
the  famous  Clay ton-B ul wer  treaty;  was  for  the  third  time 
elected  to  the  Senate;  took  his  seat  March,  1851;  died  a 
Senator  November  9,  [856.  During  his  last  term  in  the 
Senate  he  vindicated  with  marked  ability  the  principles  of 
the  treaty  which  he  inaugurated.  At  the  bar  he  was  a 
learned  lawyer  and  eloquent  advocate,  and  during  his  whole 
career  acquitted  himself  uprightly,  with  dignity,  and  with 
recognized  ability. 

Daniel  Webster,  of  Massachusetts,  entered  upon  duties 
July  22,  1850;  died  October  24,  1852.  This  was  Mr. 
Webster's  second  appointment.      (See  biography,  p.  108). 

CHARLES  M.  Coxkad  was  born  in  Winchester,  Ya.,  about 
[804.  He  went  with  his  father  to  Mississippi  and  thence 
to  Louisiana  while  an  infant;  received  a  liberal  education; 
studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1828,  and  prac- 
ticed in  New  (  h'leans;  served  several  years  in  the  State 
legislature;  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  as  a 
Whig  in  the  place  of  Alexander  Mouton,  who  had  resigned, 
and  served  from  April  14,  1S42,  till  March  3,  1843;  in  1844 
he  was  a  member  of  the  State  constitutional  convention; 
was  elected  to  Congress  in  1848  and  served  till  August, 
[850,  when  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War  by  Presi- 
dent Fillmore;  was  commissioned  Secretary  of  State  ad 
interim  September  _>,  iS^j,  entered  upon  his  duties  same 
date,  and  retired  November  6,  1852;  was  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  secession  movement  in  Louisiana  in  Decem- 
ber, [860,  a  deputy  from  Louisiana  in  Montgomery  provi- 
sional Congress  of  [861,  a  member  of  the  First  and  Second 
Confederate  Congresses  in  1S62-1N64,  and  also  served  as  a 
brigadier-general  in  the  Confederate  Army.  Died  in  New 
Orleans,  La.,  February  11,  1S7S. 


n6     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  Stale 

Edward  EVERETT  was  born  in  Dorchester,  Mass.,  April, 
1794;  received  his  early  education  in  Boston,  and  entered 
Harvard  College  when  little  more  than  13  years  old,  leaving 
it  with  honors;  four  years  later,  undecided  as  to  a  pursuit 
for  life,  turned  his  attention  for  two  years  to  the  profession 
of  divinity;  in  1S14  was  invited  to  accept  the  new  professor- 
ship of  Greek  literature  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  with  permis- 
sion to  visit  Europe;  accepted  the  office,  and  before  entering 
upon  its  duties  embarked  at  Boston  for  Liverpool;  passed 
more  than  two  years  at  the  famous  University  of  Gottingen 
engaged  in  the  study  of  the  German  language  and  the 
branches  of  learning  connected  with  his  department;  passed 
the  winter  of  iSijand  1818  in  Paris;  the  next  spring  again 
visited  London  and  passed  a  few  weeks  at  Cambridge  and 
Oxford;  in  the  autumn  of  1818  returned  to  the  Continent 
and  divided  the  winter  between  Florence,  Rome,  and  Naples; 
in  the  spring  of  181 9  made  a  short  tour  in  Greece;  came 
home  in  1819  and  entered  at  once  upon  the  duties  of  his 
professorship;  soon  after  his  return  he  became  the  editor 
of  the  North  American  Review,  a  journal  which,  though 
supported  by  writers  of  great  ability,  had  acquired  only 
a  limited  circulation;  under  its  new  editor  the  demand 
increased  so  rapidly  that  a  second  and  sometimes  a  third 
edition  of  its  numbers  was  required;  in  1824  delivered  the 
annual  oration  before  the  Phi-Beta-Kappa  Society  at  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.;  this  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  orations 
and  addresses  delivered  by  him  on  public  occasions  of 
almost  every  kind  during  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  after- 
wards collected  in  several  volumes;  up  to  1824  he  had 
taken  no  active  interest  in  politics,  but  the  constituency  of 
Middlesex,  Mass.,  without  any  solicitation  on  his  part, 
elected  him  to  Congress  for  five  consecutive  terms;  In  1835 
retired   from  Congress,   and   was   f<.r    four  successive  years 


EDWARD    EVERETT. 


History  and  Fit  net  ions  of  the  Department  of  Statt .      117 

chosen  governor  of  Massachusetts.      In  1N41  was  appointed 

to  represent  the  United  States  at  the  Court  of  St.  James. 
His  scholarship  was  recognized  by  the  bestowal  of  the 
degree  of  D.  C.  L.,  by  the  universities  of  <  )xford  and  Cam- 
bridge; returned  to  America  in  1845,  an<^  was  chosen 
president  of  Harvard  College,  which  office  he  resigned  in 
1849;  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Webster,  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  Statt'  by  President  Fillmore,  and  entered  upon  his  duties 
November  6,  1852,  same  day  he  was  commissioned;  retired 
March  ,\  (853,  and  took  a  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate; 
this  position  he  also  resigned,  after  which  time,  although 
leading  the  quiet  life  of  a  scholar,  he  greatly  added  to  his 
reputation  by  delivering  orations  on  the  life  of  Washington 
and  other  topics,  all  being  for  charitable  purposes;  was  the 
intimate  friend*  of  Daniel  Webster,  and  wrote  the  life  of  that 
distinguished  man,  whose  collected  writings  he  edited.  In 
i860  was  nominated  by  the  Union  party  as  their  candidate 
f<  >r  the  office  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  but  was 
defeated.  His  last  public  position  was  that  of  Presidential 
elector,  in  1S64.     Died  in  Boston,  January  15,  1865. 

William  HUNTER  was  born  in  Newport,  R.  I.,  Novem- 
ber 8,  1805;  entered  the  United  States  Military  Academv, 
but  left  in  two  years  on  account  of  trouble  with  his  eves; 
studied  law  and  practiced  in  New  (  hdeans,  La.,  and  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  till  1829,  when  he  accepted  a  clerkship  in  the 
I  )epartment  of  State  of  the  United  States;  while  Chief  Clerk 
of  the  Department  he  was  appointed  ad  interim  Secretary, 
and  entered  upon  his  duties  March  ,\  r8^j;  retired  March 
6,  r8$j;  was  a  second  time  appointed  Secretary  ad  interim, 
and  entered  upon  his  ditties  December  fj,  i860,  and  retired 
December  /to.  Was  appointed  Second  Assistant  Secretarv  of 
State  July  27,  1866.  Died  in  Washington,  I).  C,  Jnlv  22, 
[886. 


1 18     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

William  Larned  Marly  was  born  iii  Sturbridge, 
Worcester  County,  Mass.,  in  i  786;  graduated  from  Brown 
University  in  180S;  taught  school  for  a  while  in  Newport, 
R.  I.;  studied  law,  and  commenced  practice  in  Fray,  New 
York;  was  appointed  recorder  of  that  city  in  1816;  made 
comptroller  in  1823,  an<^  removed  to  Albany;  in  1829  was 
appointed  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  State;  was 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  in  1831;  resigned  in 
[833,  having  served  as  chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Commit- 
tee; was  elected  governor  of  New  York  in  1832,  and 
reelected  in  1834  and  1836;  was  Secretary  of  War  under 
President  Polk  from  1845  to  1849;  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  State  by  President  Pierce  and  entered  upon  his  duties 
A/are//  7,  r8jj;  ret/ret/  March  6,  /S^j;  was  a  hard-working, 
careful,  plain  man,  and  a  good  scholar;  as  a  statesman  and 
diplomatist  he  had  a  reputation  of  displaying  both  judgment 
and  skill,  but  his  crowning  virtue  was  his  incorruptible 
integrity.      Died  at  Ballston  Spa,  N.  Y.,  July  4,  1857. 

Lkwis  Cass  was  born  in  Exeter,  N.  H.,  October  9,  1782; 
received  a  limited  education  in  his  native  place;  at  the  early 
age  of  17  he  crossed  the  Allegheny  Mountains  on  foot,  to 
seek  a  home  in  the  "Great  West,"  then  an  almost  unex- 
plored wilderness,  and  settled  at  Marietta,  Ohio;  studied 
law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  was  successful  in  practice; 
was  elected  at  25  to  the  legislature  of  Ohio;  originated  the 
bill  which  arrested  the  proceedings  of  Aaron  Burr,  and,  as 
stated  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  was  the  first  blow  given  to  what  is 
known  as  "Burr's  conspiracy;"  in  1807  was  appointed  by 
President  Jefferson  marshal  of  the  State,  and  held  the  office 
until  the  latter  part  of  1811,  when  he  volunteered  to  repel 
Indian  aggressions  on  the  frontier;  was  elected  colonel  of  the 
Third  Regiment  of  Ohio  Volunteers,  and  entered  the  mili- 
tary service  of  the  United  .States  at  the  commencement  of 


WILLIAM    L.    MARCY 


LEWIS  CASS 


History  and  Functions  oj  the  Department  of  Slate,      i  io. 

the  war  of  [812;  having  by  a  difficult  march  reached  Detroit, 
he  urged  the  immediate   invasion   of  Canada,  and  was  the 

author  of  the  proclamation  of  that  event;  was  the  first  to 
laud  in  anus  on  the  enemy's  shore,  and  a  small  detachment 
of  troops  fought  and  won  the  first  battle,  that  of  the  Taron- 
toe;  when  Detroit  was  surrendered  he  was  absent  on  impor- 
tant service,  and  regretted  that  his  command  and  himself 
had  been  included  in  the  capitulation;  he  was  liberated  on 
parole,  and  at  once  repaired  to  the  seat  of  Government  to 
report  the  causes  of  the  disaster  and  the  failure  of  the 
campaign;  was  immediately  appointed  a  colonel  in  the 
Regular  Army,  and  soon  after  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general,  having  in  the  meantime  been  elected 
major-general  of  the  Ohio  volunteers;  on  being  exchanged 
and  released  from  parole,  he  again  repaired  to  the  fron- 
tier, and  joined  the  Army  for  the  recovery  of  Michigan; 
being  at  that  time  without  a  command,  he  served  and  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  a  volunteer  aid-de-camp  to  General 
Harrison  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames;  was  appointed  by 
President  Madison,  in  ( )ctober,  1813,  governor  of  Michigan; 
he  administered  the  complex  affairs  of  his  office  most  suc- 
cessfully; under  his  sway  peace  was  preserved  between  the 
whites  and  the  treacherous  and  disaffected  Indians,  law  and 
order  established,  and  the  Territory  rapidly  advanced  in 
population,  resources,  and  prosperity;  held  this  position  till 
July,  1 83 1,  when  he  was  appointed  by  President  Jackson 
Secretary  of  War;  in  the  latter  part  of  1836  President  Jackson 
appointed  him  minister  to  France,  where  he  remained  till 
1842,  when  he  asked  to  be  recalled;  in  January,  1845,  was 
elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  which  position  he 
resigned  on  his  nomination  in  May,  184S,  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Presidency;  after  the  election  of  his  opponent  (General 
Taylor)  to  that  office,  he  was  reelected  to  the  Senate  for  the 
unexpired  portion  of  his  original  term  of  six  years;  when 
4089 — 01 13 


120     History  and  Functions  oj  the  Department  of  State. 

Mr.  Buchanan  became  President  he  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  State,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  March  6,  i8jy;  retired 
December  12,  i860.  He  devoted  some  attention  to  literary 
pursuits,  and  his  writings,  speeches,  and  State  papers  would 
make  several  volumes,  among  which  is  one  entitled  France, 
its  King,  Court,  and  Government,  published  in  1840.  Died 
in  Detroit  June  17,  1866. 

William  Hunter,  of  Rhode  Island  (Chief  Clerk), entered 
upon  duties  as  Secretary  of  State,  ad  interim,  December  13, 
i860;  retired  December  16,  i860. 

Jeremiah  S.  Black  was  born  in  the  Glades,  Somerset 
County,  Pa.,  January  10,  18 10;  studied  law,  and  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  1830;  in  1842  was  appointed  presiding 
judge  of  the  judicial  district  in  which  he  lived;  in  1851  was 
elected  to  the  State  supreme  court,  and  made  chief  justice; 
was  reelected  in  1854;  was  appointed  by  President  Buchanan 
March  5,  1857,  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States;  was 
appointed  Secretary  of  State  and  entered  upon  his  duties 
December  //,  i860;  retired  March  -,,  1861;  resumed  the 
practice  of  law.      Died  August  19,  1883. 

William  H.  Seward  was  born  in  Florida,  Orange  County, 
N.  Y.,  May  16,  1801;  graduated  from  Union  College  in  1820; 
studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1822;  settled  at 
Auburn,  N.  V.,  in  1823;  in  1830  was  elected  to  the  State 
senate  for  four  years;  in  1834,  as  a  Whig,  was  an  unsuccessful 
candidate  for  governor  of  the  State;  in  1838  was  renominated 
and  was  elected  for  two  years;  in  1843  resumed  the  practice 
of  his  profession  at  Auburn,  attending  chiefly  to  business  in 
the  Federal  courts;  in  1841  was  chosen  United  States  Senator 
for  six  years,  and  took  his  seat  at  the  extra  session  called  to 
consider  the  nominations  of  President  Taylor;   was  reelected 


W  ***& 


-- 


m 


W 


JEREMIAH    S.    BLACK. 


WILLIAM    H.   SEWARD 


ELIHU    B.    WASHBURNE. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.      121 

in  [855,  and  held  the  position  until  appointed  Secretary  of 
State  by  President  Lincoln;  was  commissioned  Secretary 
of  State  March  -,-,  r86i,  and  entered  upon  his  ditties  the  fol- 
lowing day;   retired  March  j,   rS6p;  on    the  night  of  the 

assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  April  14,  1865,  while 
confined  to  his  bed  by  serious  illness,  an  attempt  was  made 
to  take  his  life  also;  the  assassin,  named  Payne,  inflicted  a 
severe  wound  with  a  knife,  from  the  effects  of  which,  after 
much  suffering,  he  finally  recovered  and  resumed  his  duties 
in  the  Cabinet;  in  1:849  published  the  u  Life  and  Public 
Services  of  John  Quince  Adams."  His  own  life  and  col- 
lected speeches  were  published  in  4  volumes,  between  1853 
and  1862,  edited  by  George  E.  Baker;  in  1871  made  the  tour 
of  the  world.     Died  at  Auburn,  X.  V.,  October  10,  1872. 

Elihu  B.  Washburne  was  born  in  Livermore,  Oxford 
County,  Me.,  September  23,  181 6;  served  an  apprenticeship 
in  the  printing  office  of  the  Kennebec  Journal;  studied  law 
at  Harvard  University;  removed  to  the  west  and  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  at  Galena,  111.;  was  elected  a  Repre- 
sentative to  the  Thirty-third  Congress  from  that  State,  and 
reelected  to  the  Thirty-fourth,  Thirty-fifth,  and  Thirty-sixth 
Congresses;  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Commerce; 
was  also  reelected  to  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress,  aorain 
serving  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Commerce,  as  a 
member  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Library,  and  also  as 
chairman  of  the  Special  Committee  on  Immigration;  on 
account  of  having  served  continuously  for  a  longer  period 
than  any  other  member  of  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress,  usage 
accorded  him  the  title  of  "  Father  of  the  House;"  was  the 
author,  among  mam  others,  of  the  bill  reviving  the  office 
of  Lieutenant-General,  which  was  conferred  upon  General 
Grant;  was  reelected  to  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress,  again 
serving  at   the   head    of  the    Committee    on    Commerce,   as 


122     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

chairman  of  the  Special  Committee  on  the  Death  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Committees  on  Rules, 
Reconstruction,  Air  Line  Railroad  to  New  York,  and  as 
chairman  of  the  special  committee  to  investigate  the  Mem- 
phis riots.  Two  of  his  brothers  also  served  in  Congress, 
namely,  Israel,  jr.,  and  Cadwallader  C.  Washburn,  who  wrote 
their  names  without  the  "e";  was  reelected  to  the  Fortieth 
Congress;  March,  ■,-,  1869,  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State 
by  President  Grant;  enteredupoti  his  ditties  March  j,  1869; 
retired  March  ijy  r86p,  to  accept  the  post  of  minister  pleni- 
potentiary to  France,  continuing  in  that  position  till  1877; 
during  the  Franco-German  war  gained  the  fervent  regard  of 
the  German  people  by  extending  protection  to  Germans  in 
Paris.      Died  in  Chicago,  111.,  October  22,  1887. 

Hamilton  Fish  was  born  in  New  York,  August  3,  1808; 
graduated  from  Columbia  College  in  1827;  studied  law  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1830;  was  for  several  years  a 
commissioner  of  deeds  for  the  city  and  county  of  New  York; 
in  1837  was  elected  to  the  State  legislature;  was  a  Repre- 
senative  in  Congress  from  1843  to  1^>45:>  m  x^47  was  elected 
to  the  State  senate  to  fill  a  vacancy;  was  governor  of  New 
York  from  1848  to  1850;  was  a  United  States  Senator  from 
185 1  to  1857;  in  1862  was  appointed  one  of  a  board  of  com- 
missioners to  relieve  Union  prisoners  in  the  Southern  States, 
and  succeeded  in  negotiating  an  exchange  of  prisoners;  was 
commissioned  Secretary  of  State  by  President  Grant^  March 
1  /,  r86p;  ottered  upon  his  ditties  as  such  March  ij,  1S69; 
was  again  commissioned  Secretary  0/  State  March  17, 
/<S'/j;  retired  March  12,  iXjJ;  took  a  conspicuous  part 
in  negotiating  a  settlement  of  the  Alabama  claims  and 
one  or  two  important  treaties  in  [871  and  1872;  from 
the  time  he  left  the  Senate  until  he  became  Secretary  of 
State  he   traveled    in    Europe;  was   for    a    time    President 


HAMILTON    FISH. 


WILLIAM    M.    EVARTS. 


oft 


f&      ^v; 


* 


4 


JAMES  G.   BLAINE. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     123 

of  the    New    York    Historical    Society;  died   at    Garrison, 
X.  V.,  September  7,  [893. 

Wii.i.iam  M.  EVARTS  was  born  in  Boston,  Mass.,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1S1S;  graduated  from  Vale  in  1:837;  studied  law  at 
Cambridge  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  New  York  City 
in  [840;  in  1 S57  he  received  the  degree  of  doctor  of  laws 
from  Union  College;  attained  a  high  position  as  a  law- 
yer; was  the  leading  counsel  employed  to  defend  President 
Johnson  in  his  trial  before  the  Senate;  was  Attorney-Gen- 
eral of  the  United  States  from  July,  1868,  to  March,  1869, 
when  he  resigned;  was  one  of  the  three  lawyers  appointed 
in  the  interests  of  the  United  States  before  the  Tribunal 
of  Arbitration  at  Geneva  in  1871  to  settle  the  "Alabama 
Claims;"  was  one  of  the  counsel  who  defended  Henry 
Ward  Beecher  in  1875;  in  November,  1875,  was  invited  by 
the  Centennial  Commission  to  deliver  the  opening  oration 
at  the  Exposition  in  1876,  the  kindred  honor  for  reciting  a 
poem  on  that  occasion  having  been  conferred  upon  Henry 
W.  Longfellow;  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  by  Presi- 
dent //ayes,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  Mare//  12,  i$"J7; 
retired  March  7,  1881;  resinned  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion in  [885;  was  elected  United  States  Senator  from  New 
York  for  six  years  from  March  4,  1885.  Died  in  New  York 
City  b'ebrnary  28,  1901. 

James  G.  Blaine  was  born  in  Washington  County,  Pa., 
January  31,  1830;  graduated  from  Washington  College,  1847; 
accepted  the  position  of  editor;  removed  to  Maine;  edited 
the  Kennebec  Journal  and  Portland  Advertiser  for  several 
years;  served  for  four  years  in  the  Maine  legislature,  two 
years  as  speaker  of  the  house;  in  1862  was  elected  a  Repre- 
sentative from  Maine  to  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress,  serving 
as  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  the  Post-Office  and  Post- 
4089 — o  1  — 1 4 


124      History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State. 

Roads;  reelected  to  the  Thirty-ninth  CongTess,  serving  on 
the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  the  special  committee 
on  the  death  of  President  Lincoln,  and  as  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  the  War  Debts  of  the  Loyal  States;  reelected 
to  the  Fortieth  Congress,  serving  on  the  Committees  on 
Appropriations  and  Rules;  was  reelected  to  the  Forty-first 
Congress,  and  made  Speaker  of  the  House,  holding  that  posi- 
tion during  the  Forty-second  and  Forty-third  Congresses;  was 
reelected  to  the  Forty-fourth  Congress;  in  1876  was  elected 
United  States  Senator,  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the 
resignation  of  Lot  M.  Morrill;  was  reelected  for  the  term 
ending  in  1883;  resigned  in  r88i,  to  accept  the  pas/  of  Sec- 
retary of  State  in  the  cabinet  of  President  Garfield;  was 
commissioned  March  5",  iSSis  and  entered  upon  his  duties 
March  ~,  t88i;  retired  December  rp,  t88i;  was  an  unsuc- 
cessful candidate  for  President  of  the  United  States  in  1884; 
was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  by  President  Harrison 
and  entered  upon  his  duties  March  7,  i88p,  and  resigned 
the  position  June  ./,  1892.  Died  in  Washington  January 
27,  ^893. 

Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen  was  born  at  Millstown, 
Somerset  County,  N.  J.,  August  4,  [817;  was  the  nephew 
and  adopted  son  of  Theodore  Frelinghuysen;  graduated 
from  Rutgers  College  in  1S36;  studied  law  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1838;  was  appointed  attorney-general  of  New 
Jersey  in  1S61;  reappointed  in  1866;  was  subsequently  ap- 
pointed a  United  States  Senator  from  New  Jersey  for  the 
unexpired  term  of  William  Wright,  deceased,  and  served  on 
the  Committees  on  the  Judiciary  and  Pensions.  In  January, 
[867,  his  appointment  as  Senator  was  confirmed  by  the  leg- 
islature; his  term  ended  in  1869;  was  reelected  to  the  Senate 
for  the  term  ending  in  [875,  and  served  on  the  Committees 


FREDERICK  T.  FRELI  NGH  U  YSEN. 


THOMAS    F.    BAYARD. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State,      i  25 

(in  Foreign  Relations  and  the  Judiciary,  and  as  chairman  of 
the  Agricultural  Committee;  in  1890  was  appointed  minis- 
ter to  England,  but  declined;  was  reelected  to  the  Senate  for 
the  unexpired  term  ending  in  [877;  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  State  by  President  Arthur;  was  commissioned  December 
12,  1881,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  December  /y,  r88i; 
retired  March  <5,  1885.      Died  May  20,  1885. 

Thomas  F.  Bayard  was  born  in  Wilmington,  Del., 
October  29,1828;  was  chiefly  educated  in  the  Flushing 
School,  established  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  F.  L.  Hanks;  his  early 
training  was  for  a  mercantile  life;  studied  and  adopted  the 
profession  of  law;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1851,  and, 
excepting  the  years  1855  and  1856,  when  he  resided  in 
Philadelphia,  always  practiced  in  his  native  city;  in  1853 
was  appointed  United  States  district  attorney  for  Delaware; 
resigned  iii  1 854;  was  elected  a  United  States  Senator  for 
the  term  commencing  in  1869  and  ending  in  1875;  served 
on  the  Committees  on  Finance,  Private  Land  Claims,  and 
Revision  of  Daws;  011  the  same  da}'  of  his  election,  his  father, 
James  A.  Bayard,  was  also  reelected  to  the  Senate  from  the 
same  State,  the  only  instance  of  the  kind  which  ever  occurred; 
was  reelected  in  1875,  and  again  in  1881;  resigned  his  seat 
in  the  Senate  and  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  by 
President  Cleveland^  and  eon/missioned  March  6,  i88^\ 
entered  upon  his  ditties  March  7,  1885;  retired  March  6, 
i88p.  Died  at  Karlstein,  near  Dedham,  Mass.,  September 
28,  1898. 

James  G.  Blaine,  of  Maine,  was  appointed  Secretary  of 
State  by  President  Harrison;  was  eon/missioned  March  -,"% 
r88p;  entered  upon  his  duties  March  7,  i88p;  retired  June 
7,  i8p2.  This  was  Mr.  Blaine's  second  appointment.  (See 
biography,  p.  1 24.) 


126     History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  oj  State. 

William  F.  Wharton,  of  Massachusetts,  while  Assistant 
Secretary,  was  appointed  Secretary  ad  interim,  and  entered 
upon  his  duties  June  5,  1892;  retired  June  29,  1892.  Was 
again  appointed  Secretary  ad  interim  while  Assistant  Sec- 
retary, and  entered  upon  his  duties  February  24,  1893,  to 
succeed  John  W.  Foster,  and  retired  March  5,   1893. 

John  W.  FoSTEK  was  born  in  Pike  County,  Ind.,  March 
--  ^836;  graduated  from  the  Indiana  State  University  in 
i.SvSs;  studied  law  at  the  law  school  of  Harvard  University; 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  commenced  practice  at  Kvans- 
ville,  Ind.  ;  served  in  the  Union  Army  throughout  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion,  rising  to  the  rank  of  colonel  and  brevet 
brigadier-general ;  at  the  close  of  the  war  became  the  editor 
<>f  the  Daily  Journal,  at  Evansville,  Ind.;  in  1S69  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Evansville;  was  chairman  of  the 
Republican  committee  in  1S72;  in  1 S 7 3  was  appointed 
United  States  minister  to  Mexico;  in  1880  was  transferred 
to  vSt.  Petersburg,  as  minister  to  Russia;  resigned  in  1NN1 
and  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  locating  in  Washington, 
I).  C. ;  in  February,  [  883,  was  appointed  United  .States  min- 
ister to  Spain;  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  by  Presi- 
dent Harrison,  and  entered  upon  //is  duties  June  29,  /S<;->; 
retired  February  23,  />Vy  ,7  was  engaged  by  the  Chinese 
Government  as  special  commissioner  and  counsel  in  negoti- 
ating the  treaty  of  peace  between  China  and  Japan;  was  a 
member  of  the  High  Joint  Commission  for  the  consideration 
and  adjustment  of  disputed  questions  between  (beat  Britain 
and  the  United  .States;  has  deli vered  a  course  of  lectures  on 
international  law  and  diplomacy  before  the  school  of  diplo- 
macy, Columbian  University,  and  has  made-  valuable  con- 
tributions to  the  literature  of  international  law  and  diplo- 
macy.    Resides  in  Washington. 


JOHN    W.    FOSTER. 


WALTER   Q.   GRESHAVI. 


RICHARD    OLNEY. 


History  and  Functions  oj  the  Department  of  State.      127 

WALTER  Q.  GRESHAM  was  born  in  Harrison  County,  [nd., 
March  17,  [833;  attended  the  State  University  at  Bloom- 
ington,  [nd.,  but  did  not  graduate;  studied  law,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  [855,  and  engaged  in  practice  at  Congden,  hid.; 
entered  the  Union  Army  in  [86]  as  lieutenant-colonel;  was 
soon  afterwards  promoted  to  be  colonel,  and  was  made  a 
brigadier-general  after  the  fall  of  Vicksburg;  was  wounded 
in  July,  1864,  while  in  command  of  a  division  before  Atlanta, 
and  was  brevetted  a  major-general  from  that  date;  was 
financial  agent  of  Indiana  in  New  York  City  from  1867  to 
[869,  when  he  was  appointed  United  States  district  judge 
for  the  district  of  Indiana,  in  which  capacity  he  served  until 
April,  1883,  when  he  was  appointed  Postmaster-General  in 
the  Cabinet  of  President  Arthur;  in  1884  was  appointed, 
circuit  judge  of  the  seventh  judicial  circuit;  was  appointed 
Secretary  of  State  by  /'reside///  Cleveland,  and  entered 
n pan  his  duties  the  same  day  he  was  commissioned — March 
6,   T893;  died  May  28,   /Si)^y  white  in  office. 

Edwin  R  I'm.,  of  Michigan,  while  Assistant  ,Secretary, 
was  appointed  Secretary  of  State,  ad  interim,  to  succeed 
Walter  0.  Gresham,  deceased,  and  entered  upon  his  duties 
May  29,  1895;  retired  June  10,  1895. 

Richard  Olxf.y  was  born  in  Oxford,  Mass.,  September 
[5,  1H35;  was  prepared  for  college  in  Leicester  Academy, 
Worcester  Count}',  and  was  graduated  from  Brown  in  1856; 
was  also  graduated  from  Harvard  Law  School  in  1859,  an<^ 
in  the  same  year  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  his  native  State; 
in  1874  was  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  legislature; 
was  in  the  practice  of  the  law  in  Boston  until  called  to  the 
office  of  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States  by  President 
Cleveland  in  March,  1893;  resigned  that  position  to  accept 


[28     //is/cry  and  Functions  of  tin1  Department  of  State. 

the  appointment  of  Secretary  of  State;  was  commissioned 

Secretary  of  State  June  8,  r8pj,  a  tut  entered  upon  his  duties 
June  ro,  1895;  retired  March 5,  1897;  resumed  the  practice 
of  law  in  Boston;  Brown  and  Harvard  conferred  upon  him 
the  degree  of  LL.  D. 

John  SHERMAN  was  born  in  Lancaster,  Ohio,  May  i<>, 
[82  5;  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  where  was  laid 
the  foundation  for  the  education  he  acquired  through  his 
insatiable  avidity  for  knowledge;  studied  law,  and  at  the 
age  of  2 1  was  admitted  to  practice;  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress in  1855;  in  1859  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for 
the  Speakership;  was  made  chairman  of  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee,  and  thus  became  the  leader  of  his  party 
on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives;  entered  the 
United  States  Senate  in  1861,  and  sat  continuously  in  that 
body  till  his  death,  with  the  exception  of  the  four  years 
he  served  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  President 
Haves,  and  the  period  he  was  Secretary  of  State  in  the  Cab- 
inet of  President  McKinley.  During  the  civil  war  Mr. 
Sherman  was  one  of  the  stanchest  and  most  influential  sup- 
porters of  the  policy  of  President  Lincoln.  He  took  a 
prominent  part  in  the  reconstruction  policy  after  the  war, 
and  during  President  Grant's  second  term  came  still  more 
prominently  before  the  country  as  the  chief  author  and 
champion  of  the  measures  for  the  resumption  of  specie  pay- 
ments, which  he  afterwards  carried  to  a  successful  issue  as 
the  head  of  the  Treasury  Department.  He  was  three  times 
put  forward  as  an  eligible  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  but 
each  time  failed  to  receive  the  nomination.  Resigned  his 
seat  in  the  /'///ted  States  Senatt  to  accept  the  position  of 
St  cretary  of  State  in  tin  L  'abinet  of  President  McKinley\  ix  'as 
appointed  Man//  •,",  r8py,  and  entered  upon  Ins  duties  Mare// 
6,  1897;  resigned  April  26,  t8o8.      Died  October  22,  [900. 


«**  ^ 


JOHN    SHERMAN. 


WILLIAM    R.    DAY. 


History  and  Functions  of  the  Department  of  State.     129 

William  R.  Day  was  horn  in  Ravenna,  Ohio,  April  17, 
1849;  after  completing  his  collegiate  course  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan  in  1870,  he  studied  in  the  law  school 
at  Ann  Arbor,  and  in  1872  began  practice  at  Canton.  His 
firm,  which  he  usually  represented  in  the  courts,  became 
known  in  a  short  time  through  the  length  and  breadth  of 
(  )hio.  He  was  a  zealous  Republican  politician,  but  neither 
sought  nor  accepted  office  for  himself  until  he  was  nomi- 
nated by  both  Republicans  and  Democrats  to  a  judgeship  in 
the  court  of  common  pleas  in  1886.  After  a  brief  while  he 
resigned  from  the  bench  to  return  to  general  practice.  In 
1 889  he  declined,  on  account  of  failing  health,  the  appoint- 
ment of  judge  of  the  United  States  district  court.  Presi- 
dent McKinley  appointed  him  Assistant  Secretary  of  State 
May  3,  1897;  was  commissioned  Secretary  of  State  April 
26,  /A'y.s',  and  entered  upon  his  duties  April  28,  1898; 
resigned  September  r6,  /<SV<S',  to  accept  the  position  of 
President  of  the  Board  of  Peace  Commissioners  to  negotiate 
a  treaty  of  peace  with  Spain.  After  completing  the  work  of 
the  Commission  he  was  nominated  by  President  McKinley 
for  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
sixth  judicial  circuit,  northern  district  of  Ohio,  and  the 
nomination  was  promptly  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  Judge 
Day  is  now  holding  this  position. 

Alyf.y  A.  AdEE,  Second  Assistant  Secretary — the  posi- 
tion of  Assistant  Secretary  being  vacant — was  appointed  ad 
interim  Secretary,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  September 
17,  1896;  retired  September  30,  1898,  on  which  date  John 
Hay  assumed  the  duties  of  Secretary  of  State. 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Accounts,  bureau,  duties  of 56-59 

Chief,  biography  of 55 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  biography  of 102-103 

John S7 

Adee,  Alvey  A. : 

Biography  of 40 

Appointed  secretary  ad  interim 129 

.  It/  interim .  secretaries 4-5 

Adee,  Alvey  A 129 

Rrent,  Daniel 103 

Conrad.  Charles  M 115 

I >errick,  William  S in 

(  iiahain,  John 103 

Hamilton.  Alexander  H 105 

Hunter,  William 1  1  7,  1  20 

Lee,  Charles 99 

Lincoln,  Levi 100 

Martin,  J.  L 108 

Nelson,  John 1 1 1-1 12 

Rush.  Richard 103 

Uhl,  Edwin  F 127 

Upshur,  Abel  P n  1 

Wharton,  William  F 126 

Allen,  Andrew  IL,  biography  of 60 

Appointments,  bureau,  duties  of 83-85 

Chief,  biography  of S3 

I!a\  ard,  Thomas  1'.,  biography  of 125 

Biographies,  Secretaries  and  others 39_86 

Adams.  John  Quincy 102-103 

Adee,  Alvey  A 41 

Allen,  Andrew  II 60 

Bayard,  Thomas  F 125 

Black,  Jeremiah  S 1  20 

Blaine,  James  G 123,  124,  125 

Boudinot,  Elias 90 

Brent,  Daniel 103 


[32  Index. 

Biographies,  Secretaries  ;ui<]  others— Continued.  Page. 

Buchanan,  James 113-114 

Calhoun,  John  C 112-113 

Cass,  Lewis 1 1S-120 

Clay,  Henry '°3-'05 

Clayton.  John  M 1  1  1    CI5 

Chilton,  Robert  S.,  jr 50 

Conrad,  Charles  M 1  '5 

Cridlcr.  Thomas  W 4" 

Day,  William  R 129 

I  terrick,  William  S 1  1  1 

Emory,  Frederick 's«  > 

Everett,  Edward 1 16-1 17 

Evarts,  William  M 1 23 

Fish,  Hamilton 122.  [23 

Foster,  John  W 126 

Forsyth,  John i<>7    to8 

Frelinghuysen,  Frederick  T 124,  125 

Graham,  John 103 

( rresham,  Walter  Q 1 27 

Hamilton,  Janus  Alexander 105 

Hay,  John 39 

Hill,  David  J 4« 

Hunter,  William 1  17.  '  20 

Jay,  John 92~93 

Jefferson,  Thomas 95,  96 

King,  Pendleton 7  1 

Lee,  Charles 99 

Legar£,  I lugh 1  "»  111 

Lincoln,  Levi "  H ' 

Livingston,  Edward 106   '"7 

Livingston,  Robert  R 89 

Madison,   James 100 

Marry,  William   I tl8 

Marshall,  John 99-IOO 

Martin,  J.  L <o8 

Michael,  William  II 42-44 

Mifflin,  Thomas 90-9] 

Monroe,  James tOl     r02 

Morrison.  Thomas 55~56 

Mosher,  Robert  B 83 

Mr  Lane,  Louis 107 

Nelson,  John 111    112 

Olney,  Richard   127-128 

Pickering,  Timothy 97~9^ 


Index.  i  33 

Biographies,  Secretaries  and  others     Continued. 

Randolph,  Edmund 97 

Rush,  Richard [03 

Secretaries  of  Foreign  Affairs  87-94 

Seward,  William  II 120-122 

Sherman,  John 12.S-129 

Smith,   Robert 101 

Smith,  Sydney  V 47 

T  "HI,  Edwin  F 127 

Upshur,  Ahel  P 1 1 1 

Van  Buren,   Martin 105- 106 

Washburn,  Klihn  B 121,  122 

Webster,    Daniel 10N-110,  115 

Wharton,  William  F 126 

Black,  Jeremiah  S.,  biography  of 120 

Blaine.  James  G.,  biography  of [23-124-125 

Boudinot,  Elias,  biography  of 87-90 

Brent,  Daniel,  biography  of 103 

Buchanan,  James,  biography  of 1 13-1 14 

Buildings  occupied  by  Department 9-1 1 

Calhoun,  John  C,  biography  of 112-113 

Cass    Lewis,  biography  of 1 1S-1 19-120 

Chief  Clerk's  office,  duties  of 45-46 

Chilton.  Robert  S.  jr.,  biography  of 50 

Clay,  Henry,  biography  of 103-104-105 

Clayton,  John  M.,  biography  of 114-115 

Conrad,  Charles  M.,  biography  of 115 

Cridler,  Thomas  W.,  biography  of 41 

Consular  Service,  personnel,  bureaus,  duties  of 5-6-50-54 

Day.  William  R.,  biography  of 129 

Dana, ,  reference  to S7 

Department  of  State: 

<  >fficers  and  chiefs  of 7 

Biographies  of  present  officers  and  chiefs  of 39~94 

Buildings  occupied  by,  at  different  times 7-1  1 

1  Hities  of  officers  of 27-2W 

Establishment  of,  by  act  of  Congress 21 

Historical  sketch  of  the  development  of 13-38 

Personnel  of 25 

Routine  duties  of 32_36 

Achievements,  some  of 37~.vs 

Derrick,  William  S 1 1  1 

Diplomatic  Service 5-6 

Bureau  of,  duties  of 47 

Emory,  Frederick 80 


i  34  Indi  \ . 

Page 

Evarts,  William  M [23 

Everett,  Edward 116.  1  17 

Fish,  Hamilton,  biography  of 122-123 

Foreign  Affairs,  I  >epartment  of 9-1 1 

Buildings  occupied  by 9-1 1 

Becomes  Department  of  State 21 

Development  of 13-18 

Establishment  of,  by  act  of  Congress 19-20 

Foreign  Commerce,  Bureau  of,  duties  of 80-82 

Forsyth,  John 107    108 

Foster,  John  W.,  biography  of 126 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  reference  to 87 

Frelinghuysen,  Frederick  T.,  biography  of 124,  125,  126 

Graham,  J< >b  11,  biography  of [03 

Gresham,  Walter  (J.,  biography  of 127 

Hamilton,  James  Alexander,  biography  of 105 

Hay,  J'>hu.  biography  of 39 

Hill.  I  >avid  Jayne,  biography  of 40 

Hunter,  William 1 17,  120 

Illustrations: 

Adams,  John  Quincy 102 

Adee.  Alvey  A 41 

Allen.  Andrew   H 60 

Bayard,  Thomas  F 1  25 

Black,  Jeremiah   S 120 

Blaine,  James  G 123 

Buchanan,  James 113 

Building  occupied  by  Department  at  the  present  time   1 

Building  occupied  by  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs 9 

Building  occupied  by  Department  from  1N20  to  1866 10 

Building  occupied  by  I  (epartment  from  1S66  to  1.S75 11 

Calhoun,  John  C - 112 

Cass,  Lewis mS 

Clay,  Henry 103 

Clayton,  John  M      1 14 

Chilton,  Robert   S..  jr 50 

Cridler.  Thomas  W 41 

Day,  William  R 129 

Emory,  Frederick No 

EvartS,  William  M 123 

Everett,  Edward 116 

Fish,  Hamilton 122 

Forsyth,  John 107 

Foster,  John  W 126 


Index.  135 

Illustrations — Continued. 

Frelinghuysen,  Frederick  T 124 

Gresham,  Walter  Q 127 

Hay,  John 39 

Hill.  David  Jayne 40 

Jefferson,  Thomas 95 

King,  Pendleton 74 

Livingston,  Edward 106 

McLane,  Louis 107 

Madison,  James 100 

Marcy,  William  1 118 

Marshall,  John 99 

Michael,  William  H 42 

Monroe,  James 101 

Morrison,  Thomas 90 

Mosher,  Robert  Brent 83 

Olney,  Richard 127 

Pickering,  Timothy 98 

Randolph,  Edmund 97 

Seward,  William  II 120 

Sherman,  John 128 

Smith.  Robert 101 

Smith,  Sydney  Y 47 

Upshur,  Abel  P 1 1 1 

Van  Buren,  Martin 105 

Washburn,  Elihu  B 121 

Webster,  Daniel 108 

Jay,  John,  biography  of 88 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  biography  of 88 

King,  Pendleton,  biography  of 74 

Lee, Charles 99 

Legare,  Hugh  S. ,  biography  of 1 10- 1 1 1 

Lincoln,  Levi too 

Livingston,  Edward,  biography  of , 106-107 

Livingston,  Robert  R 87,  89 

McLane,  Louis 107 

Madison,  James,  biography  of 100 

Marcy,  William  L.,  biography  of 118 

Marshall,  John,  biography  of 99 

Martin,  J.  L 10S 

Michael,  William  II.,  biography  of 42 

Mifflin,  Thomas,  biography  of 88,  90,  91 

Monroe,  James,  biography  of 101-102 

Morrison,  Thomas,  biography  of 55 

Mosher,  Robert  Brent,  biography  of 83. 


6  Index, 


Page. 

Nelson,  John 1 1  i-i  12 

Olney,  Richard,  biography  of 127 

Pei  sonnel  of  the  1  >epartment  of  State 3-4 

Pickering,  Timothy,  biography  of 97-98 

Rolls  and  Library,  Bureau  and  duties  of 60-73 

Rush,  Richard 103 

Secretaries: 

Number  of 4 

Ad  interim 4-5 

Service: 

Consular 5-6 

Diplomatic   5 

Seward,  William  II.,  biography  of 1 20-1 21 

Sherman,  John,  biography  of 128 

Smith,  Robert,  biography  of 101 

Smith,  Sydney  V.,  biography  of 47 

Uhl,  Edwin  F 127 

Upshur,  Abel  P.,  biography  of 1 1 1 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  biography  of 105-106 

Vergennes,  Count,  reference  to 87 

Washburn,  Klihu  B.,  biography  of 121,  122 

Washington,  George,  reference  to 88 

Webster,  Daniel,  biography  of 108,  109,  no,  1  15 

Wharton,  William  F 1  26 

o 


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